Reyna, Not Mulan
by Andromeda-To-The-Demitria
Summary: Reyna is, well, different from all the other girls. So when the opportunity to save her father's life comes, Reyna is all for it. Until she gets sent to an ex-enemy country with a flirtatious god as a guardian sent by her father anyway. Now Reyna has to fight, stay undercover, and try not to fall in love with the leader, all to prove that she is not, in fact, a disgrace to Rome.
1. Late For Everything

"Reyna! Get up or you'll miss the meeting!"

Reyna groaned as she sat in her bed, rapidly writing notes in Latin on her forearms. Today she had to go to a meeting to see what man she would be compatible with. Problem was, Reyna didn't want to be compatible with any man in this city. She wasn't ready to be married, let alone to some guy she didn't know. Plus she had a crush on the emperor.

On top of that, Reyna was awful at being a proper lady. She had been brought up learning to fight, there was no time for ladylike lessons. Her dad had realized a little too late that most men wanted women that could cook, clean, and raise children, not fend for themselves. Reyna doubted that even if her mother had stuck around she would be proper, from her dad's stories.

"Reyna? Are you up?" her father yelled again from across the house.

"Yes, father! Be there soon!" Reyna jumped up without thought, and spilled ink all over her sheets. "Oh, Pluto!" she cursed. Sighing, Reyna picked up what was left of the ink bottle and threw her sheets on the cement floor.

Reyna but the ink bottle on her dresser, and sprinted out of her room down the narrow stone hallway. She nearly ran past the kitchen without realizing it. Reyna stopped abruptly, and quickly walked into the kitchen. Her father was holding a plate that had buttered bread on it out to Reyna.

Reyna hurriedly grabbed a slice and stuffed it in her mouth. Her father looked at her condescendingly with matching obsidian eyes.

"Reyna! Please try to be as ladylike as possible today! Already eating like a barbarian, and look at your mess of hair! And you're still in your pajamas," her father scolded. He placed the plate back on the counter. "Venus have mercy on you today," he muttered.

Reyna looked down at her clothes. Sure enough, she was still in her violet undergarments. "Sorry, I don't have any time! Plus I'm going to the beautician's before the meeting, so I'll be fine," Reyna assured. "Well, I have to go do chores! Bye, father!"

Reyna gave her father a quick kiss and sprinted out of the house. She stood on the porch step, grabbed a bag of grain, and whistled shrilly. A peanut colored horse emerged from the street stables and came walking towards her.

"Come on, Scipio! I'm in a hurry today!" Reyna urged. Scipio sensed her mood and started to gallop. Reyna swung herself over his side and grabbed his mane.

Scipio looked back expectantly. "No, Scipio. The grain is for the chickens! Now get along!" Reyna kicked his sides and they trotted along to the chicken house. Reyna quickly threw handfuls of grain at them, purposefully leaving one scoop for Scipio.

She leaned around Scipio's neck and offered him the grain in her hand. "There. Now no complaining, you hear? Let's go!"

Reyna nudged him, throwing the bag behind her. Scipio took off in a dead run towards the middle of Rome. She didn't even admire the beautiful city like usual, or stare at Emperor Jason's residence- that's how much of a hurry she was in. If she failed this meeting, things would not be good.

They clattered down the streets, and Reyna caught sight of the beautician's. She clambered off Scipio, tied him loosely to a post, and flew into the fancy shop. "Sorry I'm late!"

A beautiful foreign looking woman with pink eyeliner came into the room. "Don't worry about a thing, hon. Your mother said you'd come eventually! Now follow me," the woman instructed. "I'm Drew by the way!"

Reyna's chest tightened. "Wait, my mother is here?" she asked. Reyna didn't understand what the goddess would want with her here. Bellona already had Hylla as her prized and perfect daughter, why would she need Reyna?

Drew smiled dazzlingly. "Oh, yes, sweetheart! Today is all your day, and by the looks of it, Aphrodite better have pity on you," she said brightly.

Reyna sensed magic in her voice, she'd had plenty of association with it because of her old job with the Circe, a local sorceress. "You said Aphrodite," Reyna noticed out loud, "We say Venus around here. You're not Roman, are you?"

Drew opened a door, revealing a large bath that smelled like ten gallons of perfume were dumped in it. Reyna nearly gagged. "Rome pays better than Greece, hon. Mother doesn't care! Love is universal," Drew explained. Reyna nodded. It wasn't unusual to meet children of the gods, they had so many. "Get undressed! I thought you were in a hurry or something."

Reyna snapped out of her thoughts. "Yes! Yes, I am!" Reyna exclaimed. She quickly undressed and jumped into the sickening water. Several other astonishingly pretty girls came in and helped Reyna scrub down. When Reyna was red from all the scrubbing, they let her out. Drew handed her a towel with a disapproving look and led her to the next room.

This room was covered in dresses hanging from every inch of the wall, with chairs propped up. Unfortunately, one was occupied by her mother, who was in full battle uniform. Her imperial gold shield and spear lay against the chair, and the goddess looked ready to go to war. _Juno must not want me to get married_, Reyna thought bitterly.

Reyna hardened her face and acknowledged her. "Hello, mother. What brings you here?"

Bellona pushed a stray piece of dark hair that had escaped from her gold helmet. "I've come to give you something as a gift. It is a very special day for you, is it not?" the goddess demanded.

Drew came in at that moment with an absolutely horrid red dress. "Am I interrupting something, hon?"

"Not at all. Just get me dressed so I can get this thing over with!" Reyna bossed grumpily. She was in no mood to deal with the war goddess and this at the same time. What did the gods have against her today? She made a mental note to give them an offering later.

Drew shoved the dress on Reyna while Bellona stared expectantly. Reyna hated it when she did that, it made her feel self-conscious, which was an unfamiliar feeling for Reyna. She usually didn't care at all what other people thought. But then again Bellona wasn't exactly a person.

A few other Venus girls finished strapping on the dress while Drew examined her and tsked. Reyna looked down at the overly fancy red dress. "What?" she asked sharply.

"You're a hopeless mess, sweetheart! Better fix that face and hair, hon," Drew stated smoothly. Reyna rolled her eyes and bit back a retort. She let Drew apply her makeup and put up her hair, curling the strands that fell loose.

After what seemed like forever, Drew was done. "Well, that's as good as you will get! Go on now, I have more customers to attend to, darling," Drew urged cheerfully.

Reyna nodded numbly. There was so much makeup on her face that she felt like any expression would make it crack and fall off. Drew pushed Reyna out the door, and Reyna caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

For one thing, she looked like she had spent her whole life in the sun from the fake coloring that Drew had applied. Other than that, her hair was wrapped tightly in a braided bun on the top of her head, the hanging strands curled elegantly. Somehow, Drew had accented Reyna's obsidian eyes perfectly, so that they stood out beautifully. Reyna's lips stood out prominently in such a deep red that it resembled the dress.

Reyna didn't like it. It didn't feel like her. She looked like some perfect daughter of Venus, who was proper and ladylike in every way. Reyna was the daughter of a war goddess. She'd rather spend her time learning how to attack people more efficiently.

Reyna felt the cold morning air hit her bare arms as she was shoved out the door. Roman guards barking orders at slaves filled the her ears, and Reyna tried her best to override their voices so that her whistle to Scipio could be heard. His post was empty, so he must have went for a walk.

Scipio came trotting down the street looking satisfied. Some children must have taken pity on him and fed him. Reyna snorted. Pathetic horse. Reyna was about to jump on him when she heard a stern voice.

"Reyna."

Reyna put her foot down and faced her mother. "Yes, Bellona?"

Bellona was no longer in full battle uniform, her spear, shield, and helmet were absent. The goddess held out an imperial gold dagger to Reyna. "Use it well. And do not worry about this meeting too much. Your destiny lies elsewhere," she said.

Reyna took the dagger and bowed to Bellona. "Thank you. This means a lot to me," Reyna said even though she didn't mean it. It was just a small lie. And Reyna didn't really feel like being incinerated right now.

Bellona didn't answer, which Reyna thought odd. Reyna raised her gaze and saw that the goddess was nowhere in sight. Typical. Reyna was surprised that she had showed up in the first place. Roman gods didn't usually visit their children. In fact, they only really associated with mortals unless it was romantically.

Reyna swung herself onto Scipio the best she could without ruining her dress, and took off in a dead run towards the matchmaker's. Romans swerved in all directions, trying to avoid Scipio. Reyna heard a lot of cussing and yelling directed towards her, but now that her mother was gone she was back to not caring.

The matchmaker's white stone villa came into view, as did all the nervous girls waiting outside. Reyna jumped off Scipio and came jogging over to the group. Some of the higher class girls gasped and gave her dirty looks from the front. Reyna searched for familiar faces.

"Reyna! Get over here!" A familiar voice said from behind her.

Reyna turned around to face Gwen, a neighbor girl and one of her good friends. Her almost white hair was styled identical to Reyna's, and her hazel eyes gleamed excitedly. "Gwen! I'm sorry about being late," Reyna apologized.

Gwen looked her over. "Had a rough morning? Is that why you wrote your lines on your arm?"

Reyna crossed her arms, hiding the Latin ink. "No, I couldn't remember those anyway, even if I'd been on time. And do I really look that bad?"

Before Gwen had a chance to answer, the doors swung open, revealing a large woman dressed in a yellow toga. She examined the girls, and pulled out a scroll.

"Today is the day of your future," the woman said in a nasally voice, "I will call out your name, and you will follow me into the villa. There, I will test your skills, and decide which man you shall belong with. To be in your place is great honor, so use it well," the woman warned. "I will begin with Aquila. Come, now."

One of the higher class girls stepped up in a teal dress, her red hair blowing confidently in the light breeze. She gave the crowd one last smirk and walked gracefully through the door.

The girl never came back, but the large woman came out announced another name. This happened repeatedly, and Reyna assumed that the girls exited through another door. City people were beginning to gather curiously so that they could see the matches for this year when the meetings were over.

The girls slowly went in one by one, so that soon only Reyna, Gwen, and a few high-class girls were left. The woman opened the door again and looked over her list. "Reyna." she announced firmly.

* * *

**This story is in no way historically accurate. I just used the names, because I didn't feel like making up my own.. It's not actually Greece and Rome.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**Thanks for reading my newest story! The other story will be up in a few days!**


	2. Dishonor To Rome

Reyna hardened her face and walked past the high-class girls and up on the steps, nearly tripping over the stupid dress. Gwen shot her a quick look of support as she turned around briefly to catch herself. Reyna regained her composure and followed the large woman into the villa.

The inside was set up like a mini house, with a kitchen, dining room, and bedroom. The woman gestured to everything.

"This is where you begin. We shall start in the kitchen," the woman said. She sat at the table. "Pour the wine to show your class and gracefulness. After you have finished, we shall go over the morals of a good wife."

Reyna grabbed the glass jar on the counter and removed the lid, occasionally looking at the lines written on the inside of her arm. Reyna went to lay down the lid when she nearly gasped in surprise. A spider was hanging from the top of the cupboards, just above the open wine bottle!

Reyna glanced back nervously at the large woman, who was waiting impatiently back at the table. She decided to ignore the spider, and carefully moved the bottle without hitting it. Reyna poured the watery red wine into the glass, only spilling a few drops as she did. Reyna smiled in spite of herself. She wasn't doing too bad so far.

She picked the glass up proudly and walked over to where the woman was sitting. Right before Reyna handed her the glass, she noticed something black floating in the red. It was the spider! It was too late, however. The woman already had the glass.

Reyna grabbed the glass back, the woman's hands still attached. "I'm sorry ma'am. I need that back for a moment," Reyna said as calmly as she could.

"I see no reason why I should! Now let go, girl!" the woman shouted.

Reyna took a deep breath and tugged on the glass, slightly splashing her arm. "Ma'am. I need it back, you don't understand!"

"What?" the woman snapped.

"A spider fell in there!" Reyna said indignantly.

The woman quickly let go of the glass and began screaming bloody murder. In surprise, Reyna let go too, and the red wine went streaming across the table, the spider squirming madly. The woman grabbed Reyna's inked up arm roughly and pulled her away from the table.

"I'm a daughter of Athena! That is not a funny trick girl!" the woman yelled.

"Athena is a Greek maiden goddess, isn't she?" Reyna said before she could stop herself.

The woman slapped her and shoved Reyna out the door. "Get out of here! All you will ever do is bring dishonor to Rome! No one will ever marry a girl like you!"

They were on the steps of the villa now. Reyna had had it with the woman, properness, marriage, everything. "Fine! Maybe I don't want to get married and be the perfect wife! I don't need your help! I don't need anything right now! I'm just- just fine!"

Reyna stomped off the steps with tears welling up in her eyes despite the anger she was feeling. It only made it worse that the city crowd was beginning to laugh and point, making Reyna feel like some type of exhibit. Gwen was giving her a sympathetic look, while the other girls were laughing like everyone else. Thankfully, Scipio came bursting out of the crowd, allowing Reyna to jump on and run away.

She ran straight home on Scipio, her anger boiling to the top. Her emotions were out of control, and this made Reyna even more frustrated. She was a Roman, a daughter of Bellona no less! She was taught to hide emotions, to take control of them.

Scipio suddenly stopped at the fence to their backyard, throwing Reyna overboard and on the ground.

"Scipio!" Reyna cried. Scipio gave her an indignant look and trotted off towards the stables. Reyna grumpily got up and dusted the leaves and grass off her fancy dress.

Frustrated, Reyna stomped across the grass and sat on a bench by the river. Her father was going to be so disappointed in her when he found out what had happened. Reyna would of course tell him the truth, but he wouldn't understand. It was so hard to be a girl trained for war, but also be proper. Especially when she had little experience with the latter.

Reyna knelt down by the water and gazed at her reflection. Her hair was mostly fallen out, the makeup smeared and draining down her face from sweat. Reyna splashed the water reflection and washed her face off so that it was free from it. She pulled her hair out and let it fall down her back. Then she took off the hideous dress and threw it in the river, leaving her dressed in only a thin under-dress.

Laughing at her freedom, Reyna spun and collapsed beneath the shade of her favorite tree. She wasn't going to let that meeting ruin her day. Bellona had even told Reyna that her destiny lie elsewhere. Reyna wasn't worried. Life wasn't all about getting married and being a good wife! She would find someone, eventually. Maybe not Emperor Jason, who she dreamed about, but someone.

Feeling refreshed and confident, Reyna got up and walked to her house, ready to face her father.

* * *

"King Percy! I have a message for you!"

A messenger that Leo knew by the name of Connor Stoll came bursting into the dinner hall.

The King and a few of his subjects had been busy eating when the messenger came. Leo looked up curiously. Anything Connor had to say couldn't be good. Leo glanced over at Percy and could see he was thinking the same thing.

"Yes?" Percy asked.

Connor hastily bowed and spoke urgently. "Gaea's forces have breached our borders. Their moving in quickly at both our borders and Rome's. That's all I have."

Percy waved him off. "Thanks Connor."

Leo ran that information through his head. Gaea was getting stronger, moving into Greece itself. Even though the gods and mortals had banished her from it, she was coming back. Well, it was kind of hard to banish earth.

Leo was the first to break the silence. "So, Dirt Woman really misses us, doesn't she?"

"This isn't the time to be joking around, Colonel." Luke Castellan warned from across the table.

"It's fine, Luke." Percy cut in. Then he pushed his plate away and sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I suppose we cannot keep word of the war from Athens any longer. We'll have to send for recruits into the army. Set up camps to train, too."

"And what of Rome?" Luke objected. "I know you plan to unite with them temporarily for the war. But how can we do that if you can't even unite all of Greece?"

Percy slammed his fist on the wooden table. "I don't know, Luke, okay? I was hoping that if the rest of the Greek city states seen our alliance, they would follow our lead. How well that will work out…" he trailed off.

"So back to recruiting and training," Leo said to distract them. He didn't want them getting into another argument about what was best for Greece.

Percy turned to Leo. "Right. You can be in charge of one, I need Luke and his men to be at the borders. Once you think your men are ready, take them and join Luke. We'll need all the backup we can get. I'm heading to Rome first thing tomorrow to discuss things with Emperor Jason, so I might send you a few Romans. Decide your location of the camp and let me know before I leave."

Leo thought that over. It definitely confirmed Leo's suspicions of King Percy's saneness. Who in their right mind would put Leo in charge of a whole camp of trainees? Yeah, Percy is either crazy, or just plain desperate.

"Okay, um, can I be dismissed? I have um, uh, planning to do," Leo stuttered. He didn't really want to be at the table any longer. Especially with Luke sending him glares every five seconds.

Percy nodded. "Yes. Luke and I have things to discuss privately anyways."

Seizing his chance, Leo all but bolted from the dining hall, nearly running into a servant on the way out. Leo ran through the stone building to his quarters. He swung the wooden door open, revealing his mess of a room.

Random tools and pieces littered the floors and tables, leaving just enough room for a cot hanging from the ceiling. It would've annoyed most people, but Leo felt at home surrounded by all his junk. He could understand machines better than people.

Leo cleared the objects off half a table by pushing them to the side. He pulled his chair up and a map, and studied it for about a record of maybe a minute. Leo built random machines and weapons, disassembled them, and built them again, occasionally looking at the map.

Leo had no idea where to begin. Sure, he had somehow made it to the rank of Colonel, but that didn't necessarily mean he knew what he was doing. In last resort, Leo built a metal top and spun it on the map. Before he could see the result, Leo's door opened.

"Sorry about Luke. The war is making him nervous," King Percy apologized.

Leo laughed. "It's no big deal. It takes a lot to ruin all my awesomeness."

Percy smiled and gestured to the map on the messy desk. "Have you decided your location yet?"

"Um, yeah," Leo grabbed the top and looked at its resting spot. "In Athens! I mean, here. Out of the city, of course! In the, um, rural areas."

Percy nodded approvingly. "That's a good choice, I suppose. I couldn't have come up with anything better myself. I already have a few more camps set up, and none of the leaders have any around here, so it's a good place. I'll let the Emperor know tomorrow," Percy said.

"So, um, how soon should they be ready by?" Leo asked anxiously, fiddling with a few bolts.

Percy grabbed the door handle and stepped halfway out. "As soon as possible. And Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Expect Emperor Jason to send some of his own supervisors, okay? He wouldn't send Roman trainees without knowing that they were in somewhat safe hands," Percy warned. Then he closed the door, leaving Leo to his thoughts.

Leo jumped up onto his cot without even changing. "Great," he muttered. "Not only to I get to train soldiers, I get to make a fool of myself in front of Romans!"

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own HOO or Mulan. **

**Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows! It means a lot to me!**


	3. The Great Draft

Reyna was setting the dinner table for her and her father, deep in thought.

A war had started, declared just yesterday morning. From what Reyna could tell, things were serious. King Percy himself had visited with the Emperor. She had heard of many young men already being sent to training camps. Reyna had seen the javelins thrown in her mother's temple. Things were about to change drastically. And to think Reyna had been worried just a few days ago about not being proper enough.

These were the times Reyna was glad she was a daughter of the war-goddess. She was already prepared for the fact of if Rome got invaded and attacked. Reyna would be ready to defend herself easily. Those other girls…not so much.

Surprisingly, her father hadn't been very upset about the news. It was almost like he had been expecting her failure. Though the information about the daughter of Athena had confused him just as much as her. Athena was a maiden goddess, so how could she have children?

Reyna's father walked in, smiling like she was the perfect idea of a daughter. "Hello, father. Dinner is almost ready. If you can call it that anyway," Reyna greeted.

"I'm sure it will be fine, Reyna," he reassured. "Sit down. I have something for you," he ordered.

Reyna obeyed him and sat down. "Yes, father?"

Her father reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bundle. He unwrapped it, revealing an ivory comb with black jewels embedded in it. He handed it to Reyna. "Reyna, though you believe you are a lost cause, I know you will someday find someone who sees your beauty. You will bloom in other ways. Look at the jewels on this comb, for instance."

Reyna studied them, but wasn't following her father's words. "I don't understand."

He pointed gently and laughed. "Those jewels are pretty and expensive, but compared the ivory, they are nothing. The ivory is unique and different from the normal luxuries, much like you, Reyna. You will find yourself, I promise."

Reyna fingered the comb softly, trying to figure out why she could be compared to ivory. "Thank you, father. I really appreciate it," Reyna thanked as she put the comb in her pocket.

"Reyna-" her father started, but horns blaring cut them out off their conversation.

They ran out of the house and on to the street, following the noise. In the middle of the road sat a few soldiers on horseback, holding a bunch of scrolls and blowing their horns to get everyone's attention. Reyna and her father approached them, and a lanky man with stringy blonde hair began reading off a scroll.

"Yesterday morning, our beloved Emperor Jason and King Percy of Greece made a temporary treaty to enable us to fight together against Gaea's forces. One male from every house is required to attend a training camp, which will be specified upon your scroll when you receive it. Report as soon as possible, for you are fighting for the honor of Rome." The blond man said formally. He then grabbed another scroll and began reading off names as men came up and grabbed their scroll.

Reyna couldn't believe it. One male from every household? That would mean her father would have to fight…again. He nearly died in the last one, and Reyna knew he suffered from pain in his legs and back from the last time. This wasn't fair.

Then they called out Reyna's father's last name, and he made a movement to get it. Reyna held out her arm and stopped him. "No! It isn't fair. He's already had to fight for Rome!" Reyna yelled.

Her father pushed through her arm. "Reyna, stop. It is an honor to fight once more. You should be proud for me."

"I'm not!" Reyna stepped in front of him. The street people were staring at her, but Reyna didn't care at the moment. She held out her hand to the stringy haired man. "I'll take the scroll. I'll fight," Reyna said determinedly.

The man laughed. "You? A woman, fight for Rome? No, you stay here and cook and clean!"

"You listen here, stupid man! I can probably fight better than most the men in Rome! I'm a daughter of-"

"Reyna! That's enough!" her father interrupted. He quickly reached up and took the scroll before Reyna could.

Knowing it was useless to argue in front of all their neighbors, Reyna flashed the stringy blonde man a glare and stomped back to their house. She slammed the door and sat down and waited for her father to come back, thoughts running violently through her head.

Sooner than expected, her father walked through the door, quietly shutting it behind him. He sat down at the same table they had sat at before the draft. Reyna followed his lead.

Her father put his face in his hands, and looked back up at her. "Reyna, I know this is hard for you, but you have to let me go, okay?"

"No! You've already served! I know you're in pain, something's wrong with you, don't try to deny it. If you go, it's unlikely you'll come back!" Reyna objected.

"And I know you'll be just fine without me. It's an honor to fight again. Do not deny me of it." he said firmly.

Reyna smacked the table. "I don't care about honor! I care about fairness at the moment."

Her father put his face back in his hands. "Just go to your room. Please? I need time alone."

"Fine." Reyna snapped. She got up, threw her ruined dinner in the bucket, and walked to her room angrily.

She threw herself on her bed and stared at the ceiling, formulating ideas. When she got bored, she grabbed the dagger sitting on her newly ink-stained table and examined it. The dagger hadn't changed in appearance at all since her mother had given it to her, but she still stared at it. The dagger was gold, with a black handle that had her mother's symbol engraved into it.

Reyna wasn't going to let her father go to the camp, that much was for sure. Somehow, she would have to sneak out with his scroll without him knowing. First, she needed to know how she would go through with this whole thing, which involved planning.

Deciding upon that, Reyna ignored her father's order and left her room. Reyna looked out a window as she passed by. It was already late night, time had passed quickly without her even realizing it. It appeared to be raining outside, and Reyna noticed thunder rumbling for the first time. She approached the door that belonged to her father's armory room. It was open, so Reyna cautiously passed it, looking quickly inside while she passed.

What she saw inside was so heart wrenching that Reyna almost blew her cover and helped him. Her father had fallen while practicing with his sword, and he was desperately trying to reach something to pull him up again. After seeing that, Reyna's determination increased by a ten-fold.

She ran quietly outside, to their temple to the gods. She walked across the wet grass barefoot, seeking the cover of the roof. She lit a candle by the door and walked in.

The temple was decorated with a combination of Bellona and Apollo's symbols, because Bellona was of course, her mother, and Apollo was her father's favorite god. The faint candlelight cast ghastly shadows across the statues. Reyna kneeled in front of a statue of her mother, who looked very angry and sullen.

"Mother, I know you said my path would be different. I think I've found my way, so please help me on it. Help father forgive me for what I'm about to do," Reyna prayed. Then she grabbed her dagger, and looked at her reflection in a shield propped up on the wall beside the statue.

Her dark hair was braided in the long braid that always hung down all her back. Reyna grabbed the braid, and held it up with one hand. Then she brought her dagger through the mass, slicing almost all of it off, leaving it at a short length.

Reyna let what was left of her hair fall down again, unraveling from the braid. Her hair barely reached the end of her ears, so she just looked like a man with longer hair. Her father was going to kill her when he found out.

Pushing that thought aside, Reyna threw the cut hair out the door, not looking at it while she did. Then she blew out the candle and left the temple. Reyna ran across the wet grass again, the rain falling harder and harder as she went. Reyna quietly opened the door and snuck into her house.

Reyna quickly tiptoed down the hall, hoping to all the gods that her father had decided to go to bed by now. The cold cement floor numbed her bare feet as she walked close to the wall. The room was no longer lit, but the door was still open. Reyna decided to check her father's room just in case, after she went to her room.

She walked into her room and changed into her most sturdy clothes, changing out of her dress and apron. She was now dressed in pants and a long sleeve shirt. She wasn't sure it was acceptable to be underneath armor, but she knew there were others in the armory. Reyna looked at her beside table and saw the ivory clip gleaming against the wood. She picked it up, with an idea of what to do with it.

Taking a deep breath, Reyna made her way to her father's room. She listened at the doorway, and heard his deep breaths, signaling that he was fast asleep. Reyna quietly made her way in, and approached her father's bed. She couldn't see him, because he was under the blankets, but Reyna thought it was better that way. She could see the wretched scroll sitting on his dresser, and with one last glance at her father she swiftly walked over to it, replacing its spot with the clip. Reyna grasped the scroll tightly and left the room without looking back.

As she arrived at the armor room, Reyna lit a small candle and went to work as quietly as possible. Reyna grabbed assorted clothing items and stuffed them into a bag. She then sorted through his leather armor and found the smallest size. Reyna strapped it on like she had been taught, and started to look through his weapons. She looked especially for the familiar sword her father had taught her to fight with but to no avail. She settled for her second favorite, a gold bladed one with a heavily wrapped handle. After she had strapped the sword on, she strapped her dagger underneath her sleeve.

Reyna looked into the mirror with the small candle light. She looked confident, which was how she felt. Reyna felt like she was meant to wear battle armor, and felt like she was at home. Even though her hair was short, Reyna felt more like herself, like she had really found who she was. This was part of who she was, but the world wasn't ready to accept that yet.

Using the mirror, Reyna grabbed a piece of thick string and tied her hair up. After she was done, she picked up her father's scroll she had set down and left her father's armory.

She left the house through the back door and jumped the fence Scipio had thrown her over a few days ago. The ground was muddy from the pouring rain, causing Reyna to get mud all over herself as she landed. It didn't matter though, because the rain immediately began to wash it off.

Reyna stood in the middle of the dark road, deciding on what to do. She decided not to whistle for Scipio because the whole neighborhood would know she was leaving once they heard her. With that conclusion, Reyna stomped off towards the stables at the end of the road.

There wasn't exactly a lot of light, but Reyna found the stables eventually. Reyna grabbed her supplies and searched for his spot. She felt the wooden poles, and counted until she came upon Scipio's. His shape flickered in the light of the now cackling lightning, and Reyna touched his forehead softly with one hand.

Scipio jumped and whinnied at her in fright. Reyna realized that he probably didn't recognize her. Reyna reached for him again.

"Scipio!" Reyna scolded. She whistled lowly, and Scipio's ears perked up in recognition. He studied Reyna for a minute, and then nuzzled her.

Reyna patted him for a moment, then hopped over his stable door with his saddle and bridle. She dressed him quickly, and opened his gate. Reyna hoisted herself up on to Scipio, and kicked his sides.

"Yah!" she urged. Scipio bounded out of the stable, splashing mud everywhere.

They ran through the streets, taking all the more deserted ones so that they were less likely to be seen. After a few minutes, they bounded out of Rome's city limits. Reyna slowed Scipio and looked back.

Reyna was risking so much by doing this. If she was discovered, they would kill her. But she was saving her father's life. Reyna had to do this. She had to go to the camp…

Reyna realized she hadn't even looked at where she was supposed to report. Cursing to herself, Reyna pulled out the scroll and read until she found the correct spot. When she found it, Reyna was so surprised she almost dropped the scroll. Why would they send her father to an ex-enemy country? Why not in Rome?

Scipio whinnied and bit her foot impatiently. Reyna realized that she had been clenching Scipio's sides. "I suppose you want to know where to go?" Reyna asked him.

Scipio neighed indignantly. Reyna sighed. "Thought so," she put the scroll back in her pocket.

Reyna lightly kicked Scipio. "Come on, Scipio. Let's get going to Athens!"

* * *

**Thanks for all reviews, favorites, and follows!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mulan or HOO. **


	4. The Unhelpful God

"Hey, what's up? Do you want to fight and stuff?" Reyna said in her most manly voice.

She was on a cliff just above the Greek camp her father was supposed to attend to. Before exiting the forest, she had decided to practice her manliness. So here she was, talking to a tree while her horse stared at her disapprovingly.

Scipio snorted. Reyna threw her hands up. "I'm sorry, okay? I think it's fine, even if it isn't to your perfection," Reyna snapped.

Scipio blinked, and started to pull at the bark on a tree impatiently. Reyna sighed and sat on a log. "Hopeless. I'm just asking to be discovered. Sure, I can fight. Can't act like a man though," she said to Scipio.

He ignored her, naturally. Sometimes Reyna wondered what had made her pick Scipio out of all horses to choose. He was so unhelpful most the time. He was pretty to look at though.

Reyna peered through the trees at the camp. Tents and fire pits were scattered everywhere, centered around a larger one. She assumed that tent belonged to the leader. Men bustled around, seemingly bragging to each other. Reyna even saw a woman walking cautiously around the men, tending to their cuts and wounds while talking to them. Seeing this relieved Reyna in an odd way.

Reyna tore her eyes away from the camp and stared at her horse. Suddenly, Scipio's ears perked up. He began to sniff at the ground, rapidly biting and kicking at something.

Reyna stood up and ran to his side. "What's wrong with you?"

Scipio clasped his mouth on something, but when Reyna went to reach out to grab it, a small explosion knocked both her and Scipio backwards. Reyna waved the golden fog away while coughing. She pulled herself up using Scipio's halter, and tried to decipher what had happened.

"No respect for the most awesome god! Absolutely none!" A rich voice complained.

Reyna took a cautious step forward, and the golden fog lifted away. A tall, sun-kissed blonde with golden armor was standing right where she and Scipio had just been moments ago. He radiated power, and Reyna sensed immediately that he was a god. That, and he just said so.

"Who- who are you?" Reyna said as she held Scipio back.

The god flipped his golden hair and looked at Reyna curiously. "How can you not know? I'm Apollo! God of the sun, music, poetry, healing-"

"Okay, got it," Reyna interrupted. "So why are you here?"

"Like I said, no respect whatsoever!"

Reyna dropped to her knees and bowed. "Sorry. Now my question?"

Apollo gestured to her. "I'm here because of you! Your father sent me to be your guardian, to help you survive!"

Reyna grabbed Scipio again and backed towards the camp. "Um, thanks, my lord. But we don't really need your help, so we'll just be going now," Reyna said as she turned away. Scipio snorted approvingly.

"Oh, yes you do need my help! Everyone does. Here, I'll even make a haiku about it," Apollo said as he appeared directly in front of them, blocking the path.

"No really, it's okay!" Reyna said, but Apollo had already started.

"_Everyone needs help_

_From the awesome god Apollo_

_Why am I so great_?"

Reyna rolled her eyes and pulled Scipio around the god. "That was, uh, lovely. I guess. But we are seriously fine, you can go now."

"Stop being so prideful, Miss Reyna," Apollo said. A wall of bright light appeared right in front of Reyna and Scipio, forcing her to stay. "I know you. If you fail at this, you don't only dishonor yourself, but your father, Bellona, Rome, peanut butter over here-"

Scipio whinnied at Apollo angrily. "It's Scipio," Reyna corrected. "And even so, how are you going to help us exactly?"

"Easy. I know how mortal men work! That's how awesome I am!"

Reyna raised an eyebrow. "That will look perfectly normal. Just a god following me around, nothing more," she said sarcastically.

Apollo raised a finger. "Watch this!" Apollo said enthusiastically.

Reyna braced herself, which was a good idea because suddenly a weird looking bug flung itself at her face. "What in the Pluto?" she yelled. Then Reyna slapped her hand over her mouth, fearful that the camp had heard her.

The bug jumped onto her shoulder. "Cicada!" it yelled in Apollo's voice.

"A cicada? Out of all bugs in the world you pick a cicada?" Reyna questioned. She had to swat Scipio away from biting at Apollo.

The cicada looked at her in the most offensive way a cicada could. "Excuse me, but cicadas are very musical! Beautiful creatures, really. Here, I'll make a haiku about them, then maybe you'll understand," Apollo offered.

"No!" Reyna exclaimed. "Let's just get going, shall we?"

The camp was disgusting. The more Reyna got into it, the more she wanted to throw all these unhygienic men into a lake with about a hundred pounds of soap. It was seriously gross. She almost wished she would have just stayed at the posts where she had tied up Scipio. Some were half dressed, some in armor, and others…well, they were hardly wearing anything. They were bragging to each other about their battle scars, talent, weapons, and their looks.

It wasn't really helping that Apollo kept whispering advice into her ear constantly. "Look at everybody like you're going to kill them! Wait, never mind. You already do that. Walk confidently- you already got that down too!" Apollo complained.

Reyna put her head down and spoke under her breath. She didn't need everyone to think she was talking to thin air. "If you don't like it, you are more than welcome to leave," she said.

"I know! You need to make friends!"

"Why can't I just make friends with her?" Reyna suggested, motioning to the woman organizing a bunch of bandages. She had messily cut hair that was randomly braided, and she wore a simple peasant dress with an apron.

Apollo pinched her ear. "No, because then the other men will think you're flirting with her. Her boyfriend might be in this camp, you don't know!"

"Okay, sorry!" Reyna snapped as they passed some shirtless men bragging about their nonexistent abs.

"See that man sharpening his knife over there?" Apollo asked.

Reyna searched with her eyes and narrowed in on a skinny man sitting down at a small bench sharpening a bronze knife. He had slightly curly hair that had a grey bandana wrapped around it. "Yes, I see him," Reyna answered.

"Go over there and punch him in the shoulder. That's how mortal men make friends!" Apollo instructed.

Reyna would have liked to throw the cicada a dirty look, but that would look kind of odd. "Fine. But if it doesn't work…" Reyna trailed off. She didn't want to offend the god, she was happy being alive.

Reyna walked up to the blond man, who was busy giving the death glare to a few men at the tent across from them. Knowing this couldn't end well, Reyna threw her hand out and lightly punched the man in the shoulder, just as Apollo had said to.

Before Reyna could react, the bronze knife the man had been holding flung past her face and hit a stack of boxes behind her. Instinctively, Reyna pulled her dagger out and faced the man.

` "What the Hades was that for?" the man demanded while holding out a sword he must have had sitting next to him.

Now that Reyna was facing the man, she could see that he had very startling grey eyes. They were kind of intimidating, but Reyna knew her own obsidian ones were just as intimidating as the man's. "I was just-" Reyna's response was cut off by the nurse she had seen earlier.

"Chase! We talked about this, didn't we?" the woman asked as she pulled the man back. "Don't try to kill other men when they come up to you."

Reyna stepped back and pulled the knife from the box it had hit. She handed it to the man, and looked at the choppy haired woman. She had odd changing eyes, which Reyna found a little creepy. "I'm sorry, it was my fault," she apologized in a deep voice.

"It's fine, really. I'm Piper and this is-"

"Since you're a woman, how are you allowed to be here?" Reyna interrupted curiously. Apollo pinched her ear again in warning.

The nurse, Piper, didn't seem to be suspicious though. "Oh, I just took some healing courses from a son of Apollo that I know, but I mostly persuaded the colonel to let me come with him," Piper smiled slyly, "I'm a child of Aphrodite, I have the power of Charmspeak."

Reyna recoiled, remembering that horrible Drew at the beautician's. "Oh. I'm a dau- son of Bellona." Reyna said.

"You'll be the best in camp! You're a Roman, I take it? With your mother being a Roman goddess and all that," Piper asked.

Reyna slipped her dagger back into her sleeve, ignoring Apollo's random haikus about the camp. "Yes. Am I the only one?"

Piper laughed softly. "No, we have a few others here. Emperor Jason sent his augur, Octavian, just to get him out of his hair I'm pretty sure. And General Frank's wife, Hazel, is also here. And there's some other recruits. You just have to ask. Do you have your tent and supplies yet?"

"No, I was just on my way over there," Reyna lied. "See you around?"

Piper nodded and smiled as she sat down by the blonde man on the bench and began rapidly whispering to him. Reyna didn't understand what was going on there, but she turned around all the same. Problem was, she ran right into a very large muscular man, punching him in the stomach as she swung her arms around.

"Think you're tough, eh?" the large man yelled at her. Then he swung straight at Reyna's head.

Reyna swooped down and missed his fist. She almost had a moment of victory until she realized that his fist had hit the blonde man sitting next to Piper. The blonde whipped his dagger out and began to full-out attack the large man. This caused the large man to start hitting everyone around him, causing them to hit each other.

Before Reyna knew it, she had set off a camp-wide fight. She dodged and ducked the angry men, trying to avoid any fight possible, even though she knew she could take them. Still, she kept her dagger out and blocked any attacks. Apollo's running commentary didn't help either.

"_You started the fight_

_Should have listened to cool god_

_You will be in trouble_"

"The last line had too many syllables," Reyna informed the cicada as she knocked out her opponent.

The cicada ignored her and continued on. Reyna pushed through the smelly men, trying to get out of the camp. This is definitely not what she expected to happen. But Reyna realized she was just getting pushed to the middle.

Suddenly, fire erupted through the camp, and Reyna jumped over a small streak of it to avoid the flames. Unfortunately, that put her facing the grey eyed blonde again. They ensued in a small duel while trying to avoid the racing flames. Then a voice boomed out across the camp, and the fire died down.

"Who destroyed my camp? Seriously?"

Everyone went silent and parted, right when Reyna switched to offence on the blonde man. She had her dagger raised high, but the man backed off.

Then, the whole camp pointed to Reyna.

* * *

**Thanks for everything so far! I updated in time on this one! Yes! Life has been hectic to me...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HOO nor Mulan**


	5. Who Are You?

Reyna lowered her dagger and looked over to the voice. In the middle of the now destructed clearing stood a short elf looking man in hastily put on armor. He was staring at Reyna with a confused look on his face, while his hands and curly black hair smoked and spurted out sparks.

He walked towards her and spoke again. "I asked, who destroyed my camp?"

Reyna looked the man in his brown eyes and lifted her chin. "You did. It appears to me that you started the fire," Reyna stated.

Two people walked to the man's sides, one of which that Reyna recognized as the stringy blonde man who had drafted her neighborhood. Anger filled Reyna's head, but she kept her face emotionless. The other was a woman in cavalry armor, her frizzy cinnamon hair leaking out of her helmet.

The man looked at Reyna in interest, making Reyna feel like she was being examined. "So, what you're saying is that I destroyed my _own_ camp? Why did everyone point to you then?" he asked.

"I might have accidentally started the fight, but that doesn't necessarily mean I destroyed it," Reyna responded smartly.

The man nudged the cinnamon haired woman next to him. "I like this one. He's witty," he turned his attention back to Reyna. "I'm Colonel Leo, the amazing leader of this camp. This is Hazel," he pointed to the woman, "and this is Octavian," Leo said disgustedly. "Who are you?"

Reyna hesitated. _Little help here, Apollo, _she thought. How much good that would do she didn't know, but at least it was something.

"Got it! Haiku time!" Apollo the cicada responded.

"No haikus!" Reyna said quickly.

Leo looked at Reyna questionably. "Your name is No Haikus? That's a first."

Reyna almost face palmed. "Sorry, it's um-"

"Bill!" Apollo yelled in her ear.

"Bill?"

Octavian stepped forward but Leo held him back with a hand. "Don't ask me, it's your name," he said.

Reyna pulled herself together again and decided not to ever ask Apollo for help again. She held out her hand. "Actually, it's Rey. Sorry for the inconvenience," Reyna apologized.

Leo took her hand and shook it, while the girl named Hazel stared at her with interest. "Can I see your scroll?" she asked.

"Of course," Reyna said smoothly. Near her ear, Apollo kept criticizing her name choice, saying it was _uncool_. Reyna ignored him and reached into her pocket and pulled out the rain damaged scroll. She handed it to Hazel.

Hazel looked it over, nodded, and passed it to Leo. Leo glanced it over, switching positions and covering it from Octavian's eyes. Obviously, they didn't get along very good. Unfortunately, Octavian must have gotten a glimpse of it.

"I didn't know he had a son! Why haven't we heard about you?" Octavian demanded. Reyna could feel the camp staring in anticipation.

"Well, you see-" Reyna began, but Hazel snatched the scroll from Leo and handed it back to Reyna while standing in front of her protectively.

"It hardly matters why we don't know him! I think our most current issue is the state of this camp! We can't train in this!" Hazel scolded. "What are your orders, Colonel Leo?"

Leo shifted uncomfortably and looked over the camp. "Clean it up, duh. We don't want dear Octavian sending any bad reports back, do we now?" he said sarcastically.

Hazel crossed her arms, and Reyna backed into the crowd, ending up next to the grey-eyed man she had fought earlier. "Leo, this is _serious_. You need to give out direct orders," Hazel pressed.

"I'm not a leader, but okay," Leo complained in a mumbling voice. He looked at both Reyna and the man next to her. "Since you two were the last ones fighting, you get to clean and fix the worst parts, while everyone else gets the rest. Got it?"

The grey-eyed man shot Reyna a glare. "Yes, it's clear." he said stiffly.

"Great! So I'll just show you what to do!" Leo said cheerfully, but Reyna could tell he was nervous again because he hands were beginning to smoke. She looked over to the blonde man next to her and could see he had concluded the same thing.

"Hey, Leo?" a familiar voice asked. Reyna looked over and seen it was Piper, the girl she had met before the fight.

Leo turned around. "Yeah, Beauty Queen?"

Piper rolled her eyes like she was used to being called that and continued. "Can I show them what to do? I mean, you'll be busy with the state of everything else, so if you let me do this it will make things easier," she reasoned.

Maybe Leo didn't realize it, but Reyna could tell she was using Charmspeak. Reyna wasn't completely sure that Piper was aware of the fact she was. "Okay, that's fine," Leo answered blandly.

"Come on, Leo," Hazel motioned. Then she looked at Octavian. "And you, too."

With one last intent glance at Reyna, Leo turned and followed Octavian and Hazel to the main tent. The camp began to talk and work on fixing the camp back together again. Piper smiled and stood in front of Reyna and the grey-eyed man.

"I think the best job for you two would be to help me mend the tents back together," Piper said, "My favorite spot for some peace from this noisiness is under a tree by the river, so I want you to help me pick up the tents and follow me to my spot. There, we will fix them. I don't want the camp members messing with you anyway."

* * *

An hour later, Reyna and the grey-eyed man collapsed under the tree with the last armful of tents that Piper was sitting under. Piper had a woven basket next to her full of needles and thread with a semidry tent on her lap. The tree branches had several drying tents hanging on them, while the rest of them were waiting patiently by the river to be washed. Reyna was glad Apollo had decided to take a break, or else she was sure she would be eternally annoyed.

Piper looked up from her tent. "Oh, good. You're done. Now I need you two to wash the tents and dry them. When you get done with that, you can help me sew the rips and tears, okay?"

The blonde shot Piper a look that Reyna didn't quite understand and went to the riverside. Reyna followed her, and they began to vigorously scrub the dirt patches off the tents. The grey-eyed man didn't talk the whole time. Not that he had talked while they were retrieving the tents either. He seemed too lost in his thoughts, like plans were formulating behind those stormy grey eyes at all times. Something was familiar about them, Reyna couldn't put her finger on it though.

Reyna hadn't been impressed with this so-called leader, Leo, either. The way he ran this camp was not at all how Reyna would have. Leo was scrawny, and from the looks of it had little control over his emotions and powers. He wasn't very leader like in Reyna's opinion. When she pictured a leader, she pictured someone like Emperor Jason, or even King Percy. Leo was not at all what she had in mind. She reminded herself that looks weren't everything, but his carefree attitude wasn't really helping his case.

Eventually, the rest of the tents were washed and hanging. Reyna and the man each took a dry tent and sat on opposite sides of Piper. Piper handed each of them a needle and a thick piece of thread and explained what to do. The grey-eyed man shot Piper an annoyed look when she started, so Piper turned her focus to Reyna and explained it to her.

When Piper had finished and Reyna started working, she asked about this. "Why didn't you explain how to do this to him?"

Piper laughed lightly. "Oh-"

"I'm a child of Athena, so of course I know how," the man interjected.

Reyna looked across Piper to the man. "Really? I've only met one before. I thought she was a maiden goddess, so no children. At least that's what our goddess, Minerva is," Reyna pointed out.

"She still is as Athena," the man agreed coolly, "But you Romans took away her battle skills and gave it to your own goddess, Bellona. Anyways, it's not like we are born normally. We are born purely from thoughts."

Reyna was offended by the man's comment towards her mother, but she didn't let it show. "Oh, I see. What's your name?"

"Anna-"

"Drew!" Piper cut in.

Reyna looked at the two of them, who were staring in return at her. "Annadrew? Never heard that name before," Reyna said collectively. She was sure something was up there, but she decided against questioning about it. "I've met someone named Drew before though. Didn't like her much."

Relief spread over Piper's face, and "Annadrew" went back to sewing her tent. "You can just call Annadrew Ann, okay? I have a sister named Drew that currently lives in Rome. Is it by chance her? I think she works at a beauty shop, I'm not sure though."

"It was in fact at a beautician's that I met her!" Reyna exclaimed. "It was awful. Nothing like you, I would have never guessed that you were sisters," Reyna said.

Ann looked at Reyna curiously. "What were you doing at a beautician's, Rey?"

Reyna flushed. She had completely forgotten about being a man. Men didn't go to beautician's! She said the first thing that came to mind. "I was there with my sister, Hylla."

The man nodded, but didn't look like he fully believed Reyna. Of course he wouldn't, he was a child of Athena! Reyna was so disappointed in herself. If she kept this up, she'd be revealed by the end of today. Thankfully, Piper changed the subject.

"So, Rey, how is it like living in the same city as Emperor Jason?" Piper asked. Reyna noticed her cheeks were slightly pink.

Reyna shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to answer this from a man's point of view, not from a girl who had a secret crush on him. "Well, I guess not much different than living in a separate city. We don't see him a lot."

Piper sighed. "Oh. I was hoping for something amazing. I met him once, you know. It was unforgettable," Piper stared off into space, her eyes glazed over as if she was remembering her time with Emperor Jason. Reyna's heart filled up with jealously.

"It's not really that cool," Reyna said stiffly.

Piper turned to her. "But it is! You are so lucky. Have you ever met him?"

_No, but I wish I have_, Reyna thought to herself. But she didn't say that aloud. "Never. Not many people have, I'm surprised you have. How did you?" she asked curiously.

"I was with King Percy on a diplomatic trip. He wanted me to come along just in case things got out of hand. I'd seen pictures of the Emperor, but those were worthless compared to the real thing. Jason asked me to stay in Rome, but I refused. I had to go back home," Piper said sadly. The blonde man clenched his fists, as if remembering something painful.

"What made you refuse such a thing? That is an offer of great honor," Reyna asked inquisitively. Reyna was astonished by Piper's story. For all she'd known, Jason had shown no interest in any girl in particular. Reyna didn't know what had inspired her to not accept Emperor Jason's offer. Then Reyna realized Piper had called him Jason, without a title.

Piper raised an eyebrow at Reyna, but answered her question. "I would've felt guilty staying in Rome. My father is an actor here, and leaving him here alone felt selfish. I lo-liked Jason a lot, but it didn't feel right. I'm sure you understand. We all make sacrifices for family."

The way Piper said that made Reyna feel uneasy, like she knew her secret. The intense glances the man kept giving her made her feel that way too. But Reyna could understand what Piper was saying. No matter how much Reyna dreamed of ruling alongside Emperor Jason, she wouldn't be able to leave her father. Especially if it was in an entirely different empire.

"Yes, I can understand." Reyna said simply.

* * *

**Thank you for all of everything so far! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Mulan nor HOO**


	6. Training Star

"Rise and shine, pretty woman! Time to be a man!"

Reyna groaned and pulled her pillow over her head. Her back hurt from sleeping on the hard ground, but that didn't make her any less reluctant to get up. "Apollo! The sun is barely out!"

She felt the blankets being pulled off, so she assumed Apollo was back into human form. "I'm the god of the sun, so therefore I'm up as soon as the sun is. I have to be! Do I have to recite a haiku to wake you up?"

Reyna sprung up, fully awake. "No haikus! I'm up! See?"

Apollo smirked at her with an aura of sunlight surrounding him. "Girl, you're a hot mess!"

Reyna threw her pillow at him, but Apollo turned it into a medicine bag. "Don't ever talk to me like that again, you hear?" Reyna threatened.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Anyways, I have some duties to attend to elsewhere, so you're pretty much on your own today!" Apollo announced.

Reyna began to sort through her armor and put it on. "By duties, do you happen to mean that you're going to go out dating fifteen girls at a time?" she muttered under her breath. Fortunately, Apollo didn't hear her and was gone by the time Reyna looked up again.

Reyna's tent was one of the smallest, and she had chosen to set it up outside the camp, as did "Ann" the grey-eyed man she had met yesterday. Her tent was neatly arranged on the inside, with her bed in the middle, weapons and her stuff on one side, and clothes and armor on the other.

As for the man named Annadrew, Reyna was pretty sure there was something going on there. That was definitely not his real name, especially by the way he and Piper were acting. Reyna wondered what his story was. She had heard some of Piper's yesterday, but the blonde had remained silent most of the time. For better or worse, Reyna was sure she would find out at one point.

Putting on her last piece of leather armor, Reyna grabbed her sword and dagger and bounded out of the tent. Unsurprisingly, Ann was sitting outside his tent already too. He seemed to be sketching out something, maybe a building? It wouldn't surprise Reyna. He was, after all, a son of Athena.

Reyna nodded to him as he lifted his head in recognition and pulled Scipio to the riverside for a drink. Normally, Reyna would just let him roam free, but she didn't really trust the Greeks not to steal her horse for their own. Not like Scipio would let them anyway.

Scipio trotted happily to the river, leaving Reyna to chase after him. By the time Reyna got there, Scipio was almost done, but he was staring suspiciously at a nearby tree. Reyna recognized the tree as the one she had sat by yesterday while mending the tents. She realized that Scipio was glaring at a person leaning against it at the bottom.

It was Piper, Reyna realized as she got closer. Piper's messily braided hair was up in a sloppy bun, and she was wearing a light green dress with a simple apron on top, similar to what she had worn yesterday. Piper was intently staring into a bronze blade, occasionally grimacing and shaking it, then returning to staring again.

Reyna sat down beside her. "Hey, Piper."

Piper slightly jumped, and she put her blade out of view. "I didn't recognize your voice, it seems higher than yesterday."

"Styx," Reyna muttered to herself. She had almost forgot about her disguise! "Um, I mean, what?" she said in a lower voice.

Piper smirked. "I know you're a woman, I'm just trying to figure out why you're here," she said casually as she took out her dagger again.

Reyna's thought process nearly exploded. Could she trust Piper? Should she tell her? Why would she even admit to what she said? It was overwhelming, but Reyna managed. "How did you figure it out? Is it that obvious?" she whispered urgently.

"No, it's not obvious or anything. I guess it's probably just an ability I have, you know, being a daughter of Aphrodite. I could just tell that you were definitely not a man. Nobody else will be able to notice, I'm sure." Piper said. She frowned and shook her dagger again. "So why _are_ you here, exactly?"

Reyna pulled out some of the grass nervously. "They were going to force my father, who is already having some problems, to come fight. I knew he would die if he came, so I disguised myself and

"What are you looking at?" Reyna asked curiously. At the riverbank, Scipio looked at her oddly and began to graze on some nearby grass.

Piper looked up. "Oh, my knife will sometimes show me images. Usually, it shows me what I don't want to see, rather than what I do. It's not exactly reassuring when you look into your dagger and see Gaea's armies slowly pushing in on our borders."

"What _do_ you want to see?"

Piper sighed. "I just want to know that he's okay," she said softly.

Reyna immediately knew she was talking about Emperor Jason. She tried to keep the jealously out of her voice. "Oh. Is that all you look for?"

Piper returned her attention to the knife. "No, not always. Anna…drew! has me look up things once in a while, like what's going on with our king and how the rest of our army is doing," Piper said lightly, but Reyna could tell the slight caution that had been in her voice, like she might accidentally let something slip.

"That's interesting. I wish my dagger could do that," Reyna said. Scipio trotted over to her and impatiently nibbled at her foot.

Piper looked at her with wide eyes. "No you don't, promise me. It's a cursed knife really. Awful thing. As soon as this war's over, I'm thinking about throwing it into that river and never coming back for it."

Reyna opened her mouth to answer, but a loud horn interrupted, signaling for all the men to report for training. Reyna sighed and pulled herself up with Scipio's reins. "Time to go, I suppose," she said dejectedly.

Piper stood up and put her dagger in her apron pocket. "Don't worry, I bet you can beat just about anyone here, except for maybe Ann."

* * *

Reyna was nearly late by the time she got Scipio back to her tent and ran back to the camp. The soldiers were crowding in front of the elf ruler, Leo, waiting eagerly for him to give orders. Not far off to his side, Hazel and Octavian sat at a table arguing about something. Reyna found the grey-eyed man and stood by him, which was in the front.

Leo appeared nervous from the way he kept pulling things out of his pocket and randomly assembling things. He cleared his throat, and began to talk.

"So, I'm not going to pretend to be good at the whole fighting thing-"

"Then why are you leader?" Reyna interjected before she could stop herself. The soldiers stepped back a little, as if they expected a fight. Ann stayed right beside her though, as if he had been thinking pretty much the same thing.

Leo looked at her in interest and neared her. "Look…Rey? Rey. I don't really know what your problem is, but do you seriously have to point out everything?" he leaned a little closer and dropped his voice, "I mean, I already look like an idiot out there, so please try to tone your insults down? Don't undermine my awesomeness!"

"Whatever," Reyna said briskly. She exchanged a glance with Ann, and she knew they were both thinking, _who put him in charge? _

Leo clapped his hands together and got the crowd's attention again. "Alright, so, we're going to split you guys into two groups. One half will go with me, the other with Hazel over here," Leo pointed to Hazel over at the table. She momentarily looked up from her argument.

"Wait, you expect us to follow a mere _woman_?" a man from behind Reyna yelled. Reyna clenched her fists, but she managed to stay cool..

Leo lightly laughed, and looked behind Reyna. "Yeah, I do. She _is_ the wife of Rome's most respected general, Frank Zhang. I expect you to give her the same respect you would him, okay dude?"

The man backed off and began grumbling to his neighbors. Leo pulled a large metal rod out of his tool belt he had strapped around his waist, and drew a line in the dirt right down the middle of the group. Thankfully, Reyna had managed to stay on the same side as Ann.

"Okay, everyone on this side-" he pointed to the side opposite Reyna, "goes to Hazel, and you better be there, got it?" Leo walked over to Reyna's side of the line. "Which leaves you guys to me!"

Reyna groaned and Leo looked directly at her. On the other side of the line, Hazel was yelling orders and her group was following her to the horses. Reyna assumed that her group was probably going to learn cavalry fighting, and she was glad Scipio was up by her tent.

"Look who just volunteered for an example! Let's get a cheer for Mr. Happy-To-Have-Me-As-Leader, Rey!" Leo announced to their group.

Reyna narrowed her eyes. "What am I the example for? How to beat the Great Colonel Leo?"

Leo laughed and clapped Reyna's shoulder. "Good one, Bro. Well come on, everyone on my team! Follow me!"

The group obeyed him and proceeded behind his lead. Reyna and Ann were in the front, occasionally grumbling to each other under their breath about Leo. For Ann being a Greek, they sure shared a lot of the same views on things.

Leo led them to a large clearing not far from camp, with several training dummies set up all around. He pulled a large sledgehammer out of his belt and stood in the middle, while the group surrounded him. The stringy blonde man that Reyna hated flung into the circle that Leo was in.

"Colonel Leo! You did not tell me where you were going to! You know it is my utmost responsibility to track everything you do and report back to the Romans!" he exclaimed while fumbling with a quill and piece of parchment.

Leo fake bowed and pointed his sledgehammer at Octavian. "I'm so _desperately_ sorry, your highness Octagon. I didn't realize you had so much authority over me!"

Octavian looked at Leo disapprovingly, and began to jot down everything that Leo had just said. Leo ignored this, and started his lesson, if Reyna could even call it that.

"Okay, well I'm no swordsman, but I can teach you the basics of blocking, which we'll be doing today. Now mind you, I'm using a giant scary hammer thingy, so it might be a little harder. If I'll just have our volunteer come up for the first example!"

Reyna rolled her eyes and came out from the crowd. She stood across from Leo and faced him. "I'm here," she said unenthusiastically.

Leo smiled ecstatically. "Great! So I'm going to attack, you block, got it?"

Reyna pulled her sword out. She was glad it was sturdy and made of the most durable imperial gold out there, because a standard sword wouldn't be able to stand the impact of a sledgehammer. "Easy." Reyna replied.

Leo stepped forward and swung. Reyna had no trouble blocking it. He did a few more swings, and though his fighting style was different than what she was used to, she got used to it quickly. Soon, Reyna had pushed him to defense with hardly any problem.

He backed off and raised his hands. The group started to laugh a little. "Okay then, bad example! Or good, if you were watching. Rey, you're freaking amazing at fighting!" Leo said to her.

Reyna shrugged and put her sword back in its hilt. "I don't lie." she said simply.

* * *

**Thanks for all of everything!**


	7. Discovered By One

"Come on, Rey! Just climb up the very tall pole, light the candle, and go down again! It's not _that_ hard," Leo chastised.

Reyna threw him a dirty look, and attempted to pull herself up again. The wooden pole refused her grip, and she slid down once more. In anger and frustration, Reyna threw the match on the ground and leaned against the dumb pole.

"How is something like this going to help me in battle? It's pointless and stupid." Reyna stated crossly.

Leo smiled mockingly and tossed her another match. "Just another privilege of being one of the best, extra training classes! Plus, I never said this would help you. Maybe I just think it's funny to see you struggle doing something that you can't do."

Other than that dumb pole, training was easy for Reyna. She excelled in almost every exercise, much to the surprise of both Hazel and Leo. Reyna didn't have to ask, she could just tell from the expressions on their faces. Which resulted in extra classes after everyone else was done, making Reyna stuck with Leo for personal training.

She was just glad she had convinced Apollo the Cicada to take the afternoons off. During regular training, he was the most awful help possible with his constant haikus, pointers, and ridicule on her archery skills, which were perfectly fine by her standards.

Reyna wasn't the only one though. The grey-eyed man, Ann, was equally as talented, which Reyna was pretty much expecting from that duel they'd had on the first day of camp. She didn't have to be a child of Athena to figure out that. Ann was lucky though, he got Hazel as an instructor.

"You suck," Reyna muttered as she stood up again.

"Hey, I'm not the one who can't light a candle. I got that covered pretty well." Leo said.

Reyna almost turned around and punched him. Almost. Instead, she wrapped her arms around the pole and hoisted herself up, only to slide down again after a few feet.

"You know, I'd like to see _you_ do this! Stupid scrawny spawn of Hephaestus, I bet you can't get up two feet!" Reyna taunted, sick of his authority.

Leo looked at her in surprise. "You dare doubt my awesomeness? Watch, I'll light the candle!"

Reyna crossed her arms. "Go on, I'm waiting!"

A bright jet of fire shot out of Leo's hand that was pointed directly at the top of the pole. Sure enough, Reyna could see the thick red candle at the top of the pole light up.

Leo brushed his hands off, laughing to himself. "Told you."

"You…you…not fair!" Reyna yelled in irritation. This so-called colonel sure knew how to get on her nerves.

"I never said that you _had_ to _climb_ the pole to light the candle. Just being awesome, as usual," Leo said smugly.

* * *

Later that night, Reyna gathered up her things in her tent, preparing to take a bath in the river. It was gross, but Reyna hadn't washed herself since she had arrived at the camp a week ago. At least she was now anyway. Sadly, she couldn't say the same for the rest of the camp, except for Piper. Piper had asked Reyna to keep guard while she took a jump in the river in case some of the men in the camp decided to take a peek.

She stepped out of the tent, overlooking it to make sure everyone was asleep. She could distantly see some tents lit up by candles, but the occupants were probably gambling or bragging to each other. Reyna wasn't worried about them, if they were going to bathe, they would most likely use that end of the river.

Reyna swiftly ran through the hot night summer air down the opposite side of the river, Scipio following close behind. She got as far away as possible from the camp without losing sight of it completely. Once she had chosen her spot, Reyna leaned up against the tree nearest to the riverbank, breathing heavily. Scipio ignored her and took this as an opportunity to eat more grass.

Gradually, Reyna gathered enough courage to finally undress. As soon as she pulled off the last garment, she jumped into the river for fear of being seen. She quickly scrubbed her dirty skin, and was about to start to wash her hair when a voice interrupted her.

"_Reyna is bathing,_

_That is bad, she will get caught_

_Risky, shame on you." _

"Shut up, Apollo!" Reyna exclaimed, dipping down into the river as far as she could without covering her face. He was in human form, leaning against the tree where all her clothes lay while Scipio was tossing him threatening looks. Scipio still hadn't forgiven him for the whole peanut butter thing.

Apollo leaned towards the riverbank and splashed it a little. "Aw, come on Miss Reyna. Just trying to have a little fun, that's all."

"Well have fun somewhere else! I don't feel comfortable with you here while I have nothing on!" Reyna exclaimed. "Some protector," she added, mumbling to herself.

Apollo pointed at her. "You know what your problem is? No excitement or fun! You need more challenges added to your life. Maybe I can help with that…yes, that should be about prefect!"

"What are you planning?" Reyna asked cautiously, edging towards a clump of water plants.

Apollo waved a hand. "Oh, nothing you should be worrying about at the moment! Just go about washing yourself, see you in the morning!"

"What are you talki-" Reyna started, but she had to duck down under the water to avoid the bright golden flash of Apollo leaving. By now, Reyna was used to him doing that all the time, leaving randomly without a warning and coming back whenever he felt like it. But what could she expect from a god?

Sighing, Reyna dunked her hair into the water. She scrubbed and ran her fingers through her short hair until she deemed it clean, which didn't take very long. Reyna pulled herself up again and got ready to get out of the river.

Reyna raised her fingers to her mouth to whistle for Scipio to bring her towel over when she saw a figure that was definitely not Apollo.

"Who are you!?" Reyna screamed, scrambling back behind the plants again.

"Rey?" Ann's voice said curiously. "Is that really you? I seen a bright light."

Reyna debated on how to answer. Had Ann discovered her? Or was she just being merely curious? "Yes, it's me," Reyna said calmly.

Ann sat down beside the riverbank. "You're not a man, are you? I knew there was something different about you."

Reyna urgently whistled for Scipio, who sensed her tone and splashed into the water, nearly soaking her towel. Reyna tightly fastened the wet towel around her body and flung herself up on him. She kicked Scipio, and he bounded out of the river.

Ann jumped in front of Scipio fearlessly. "Stop! I won't reveal you, I swear on the Styx. I've got something to tell you as well."

"Okay, what?" Reyna said impatiently. "Can you hand me my armor and clothes over there by the tree?"

Ann nodded and picked up the clothes and handed them to her. "I'm a woman too. You're not alone. My name is really Annabeth. I just wanted you to know."

"O-okay," Reyna said breathlessly. Then she kicked Scipio and they ran straight to her tent, leaving Annabeth at the river.

* * *

Leo disassembled and reassembled the compass for the fifth time out of boredom, staring blankly at the withered map while Octavian rambled on about what he should and shouldn't' do while Hazel snapped back occasionally in defense.

"You're not getting anywhere with anyone in this camp, they're all a bunch of worthless Greeks! They'll never be ready to join General La Rue at the border! No wonder your king told you to take them to her instead of Castellan's army!" Octavian ranted.

Leo pressed the compass into the table, trying to keep his emotions under control so he wouldn't combust into flames. "Octagon, I've just about had enough of your insults against my people. If it were up to me, all of you Romans wouldn't even be here, no offense Hazel," Leo said.

"None taken, Colonel," Hazel said forcibly.

Leo leaned forward at the table, hovering over the map. "I say the recruits are doing fine. In a week or so, I think we'll leave for La Rue's army. Don't think I'm all ecstatic about that either, that woman is scary!"

"Agreed. She's Frank's half-sister, I've met her a few times," Hazel said approvingly. She stretched back and yawned, her curly hair covering her face. "I think I'm going to turn in. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, you too," Leo said distractedly. Octavian's constant writing was really starting to drill into his head.

Hazel left the tent, and Leo realized that he was here alone with Octavian, which was one of the last things he wanted treated with. "Okay, well I'll just go too," he said quickly, grabbing his compass and practically running out the tent door.

Unfortunately, Octavian followed. "Wait, Colonel!"

"What?" Leo said irritably on accident. Whoops, now his _attitude_ towards Roman nobles is now going to be reported back to the Emperor. The world is definitely going to end now.

Octavian gave him a disapproving look and jotted that down on his parchment. "Anyways, I do hope you will have your army ready by then, because it could possibly affect the outcome of this war. You better know what you're doing."

"Okay, got it under control. Thanks for your useless attempts to downgrade all this," Leo said, gesturing to himself.

Octavian narrowed his eyes and stalked off to his small tent in the middle of the camp. Leo hated how Octavian was always pointing out how if everything failed it was obviously going to his fault. As if Leo hadn't figured this out already!

Oh, Octavian was so infuriating. Always telling anyone who would listen that Leo was one of the worst generals, and that they should try and get a different one. Leo didn't need the whole camp to turn against him. Hazel tried to help, but Octavian wouldn't take her seriously, being a woman.

Leo didn't feel like going to bed, but he didn't know what else to do. Maybe he could-

"Hey, did you know your hair is smoking?"

* * *

**Thank you for every single review, favorite, and follow!**


	8. To Light A Candle

Reyna watched as the leader of the camp started to attack his hair fiercely. "Uh, no! I did not know my hair was on fire! But thanks for the compliment, my hair is smoking…smoking hot!"

She studied him, holding tight to Scipio's reins. "Is something wrong? Normally when you're really emotional I've noticed that you start on fire."

Leo stopped messing with his hair and started to fiddle with his shirt. "Octavian, that's all. I mean, am I really that bad of a leader?"

Reyna looked into the bright moonlight. "No, you're not that bad. Just different, that's all. I suppose once I got used to that, you're really not that bad of a leader. For some, that's hard to adjust to."

"I can't even teach you, one of the best in the camp, how to light a candle though. I don't know, I'm just going to go to bed," Leo said so emotionlessly that Reyna was almost jealous. Leo turned and walked away.

"I think you're a great leader," Reyna said without thinking. What was she doing?

Leo turned. "You really think so?"

"Yeah," Reyna said. Scipio pulled on the reins impatiently, but Reyna held him back.

Leo looked at her curiously. "Thanks. You're the last person I thought I'd hear that from," Leo said slowly. Then he shook his head and continued walking towards his tent.

Reyna watched in silence as he walked. Stupid. She was so stupid. What would inspire her to tell him that? Sure, maybe it had crossed her mind a few times that maybe he wasn't as bad as she first thought, but that didn't give her a reason to actually _tell_ him to his face!

It was his fault, she decided. Making her feel a little sorry for him, so that she could temporarily put down her wall of emotions. It was just like her, always falling for the leaders.

Reyna's breath hitched. Did that seriously just cross her mind? Okay, yes, maybe she did at one time have a little crush on King Percy. Maybe she did currently have one on Emperor Jason. But they were…well, powerful. No, there was no way she could be starting to like Leo. Not her type at all.

But Leo was powerful. Reyna had even said herself that Leo was just different from the normal standards. She just had to understand that and adjust to it. Reyna had seen the fire dance from his fingertips, one of the most deadly things in the palms of his hands. That was power. Not to mention that he was an exceptional builder too.

Reyna looked up to the slender candle atop the wooden pole. It just needed lit, that was all. She needed to prove to Leo that he was a great leader. To do that, that wretched candle needed fire.

Ideas began swarming into Reyna's mind by the hundreds. What were Reyna's talents? Weapons. How could she apply that with fire? Good question there, Reyna.

"Come on, Scipio. Let's head back to the tent so I can think," Reyna said quietly.

Scipio apparently approved of Reyna's instructions, because he started to trot happily in the direction of her tent through the camp. Reyna nearly had to run to keep close to him. After jumping over a few campfires and running up the hill to where her tent was, they had arrived.

Reyna pushed the flap aside and collapsed on her pillow. She stared at the dirt stained side of the tent. "What to do, what to do?" she muttered to herself.

She could think of a million things Leo had lectured her annoyingly about. _Think outside the box, don't be so straight-forward, use your_ _resources_…blah blah blah, over and over.

Where was Apollo when she needed him? He would at least maybe have some ideas, but he was a god so he did pretty much what he wanted, when he wanted. Reyna would like to take that stupid golden bow and arrow of his and-

Reyna sprung up from her pillow. Bow and arrow! She could shoot a lit arrow at the candle! It was so simple that she wanted to smack herself for not thinking of it sooner. It was just in her area too, using a weapon to solve the problem. Even though back at home archery was looked down on, it was one of Reyna's abilities she had inherited from her mother. Not everyone could just point in the air and shoot a column of fire out.

Excitedly, Reyna prepared her things. She would get up bright and early, wait for Leo to get out of his tent, and shoot the arrow as he watched. It was perfect, really. Aside from the fact that Reyna had one chance to get her aim exact and light the candle on first try. But she would figure that out when she got there. Maybe her mother would be in a helpful mood.

After she was done, Reyna curled up on her mat. And even though she had forty million things running through her head, like the fact that she wasn't the only woman in hiding, and her shot tomorrow, Reyna fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

"Here we go," Reyna said lowly to herself and Scipio as she peered over the campsite by her tent.

In the east, the sun's rays were barely showing over the horizon, and the chilly summer morning breeze was lightly blowing around. Some of the last stars faintly shimmered in the early morning light, and the moon was dimly lit. Nobody was stirring about the camp yet except for Reyna and Annabeth, who she could see was sitting by the river just staring into the water as if expecting something to happen. Reyna didn't quite know yet what to think of Annabeth.

Pushing that thought aside, Reyna slung her bow over her shoulder and trudged down the hill to face the wooden pole. It stood tall and menacing in the scarce sunlight high up in the sky, but Reyna didn't let it discourage her. She was strong. Strong enough to do this, even if she did have only one shot.

One shot. So important. Reyna could feel the panic rising in her stomach, but Reyna covered it. It was times like these that Reyna was glad she was able to control her emotions so well like a good Roman soldier.

Scipio nudged her shoulder, as if he could sense her anxiety. Reyna touched his forehead. "Go on, Scipio. Find yourself a nice spot by the river, okay?"

As if he understood her, his ears perked up and he turned and trotted away towards Annabeth at the river. Reyna watched him go, just to distract herself as he gently approached Annabeth and began to graze at a spot near her. Annabeth's gaze turned towards Scipio, but Reyna was too far away to see her expression.

Reyna tore her eyes away from the scene and focused again on the pole. Soldiers were beginning to emerge from their tents, looking at Reyna in curiosity. Reyna looked to the Colonel's tent, but no sign of movement was showing within.

"Breath, Reyna. Breath. You are a Roman. Daughter of Bellona. You can do this," Reyna whispered to herself in encouragement.

Hazel stepped out of her tent, gave Reyna an odd look, and continued walking throughout the camp checking everything in morning ritual. Reyna nodded and glared at Leo's tent. Octavian was shaking the door now, yelling at him to get up. She could see the faint outline through the sunlight of him standing and getting dressed.

Reyna pulled off her bow and double checked it for any problems. None. She pulled out an arrow, her piece of wood, and a small piece of flint. Reyna could sense the whole camp surrounding her gradually, as if wondering what she was going to do.

Leo's tent flap moved, and Leo emerged at last. He was hastily dressed in his armor, with his curly hair a tangled mess around his elfish face. It was kind cute, in a weird way.

Reyna mentally slapped herself. She had a mission to do. She was not here to admire Leo. Reyna backed up and centered her body.

Leo looked around at the growing crowd of soldiers. "Uh, what's going on? Is my hair on fire again?"

"Hey, Colonel Leo!" Reyna shouted before she could stop herself.

Leo spun around wildly, trying to find Reyna. As he locked eyes with her, she swiftly lit her arrow, and put it in the notch.

Adrenaline filled into her body as she pulled the string back tightly and sighted her target, very aware of the burning fiery arrow. Before she could second guess herself, Reyna released the arrow, letting it fly high into the air.

The arrow flew forcefully up to the candle and smacked onto the top of the wooden pole Reyna hated so much. At first, the candle didn't light and Reyna worried that her plan had failed.

But then the whole pole erupted in fire, swallowing the candle whole. Reyna smirked in joy and faced Leo, who had walked to face her during her shot.

Leo's jaw was dropped in amazement and happiness. "You're somethin' Rey. You really are," he said proudly.

Reyna almost blushed, but she got control of herself. "Thank-"

"Colonel Leo! Colonel Leo!" Octavian yelled, running through the dispersing crowd.

Leo gave Reyna an apologetic smile and turned to Octavian irritably. "What do you want, October?"

Octavian held up a small scroll. "I've just received this from a man in golden armor, he seemed really familiar for some reason. But read it!"

Reyna grew suspicious. A man in golden armor? Kind of sounded like a god she knew by the name of Apollo.

"This is bad, this is bad," Leo muttered to himself as he read the scroll. Reyna leaned over his shoulder to read it only to find out it was in Greek. She wondered how Octavian had been able to read it, being Roman. He probably told one of the soldiers to translate it for him, most likely.

"What?" Reyna asked hopefully.

Leo turned to Reyna, grimacing. "Well, according to this note, this camp is to report to General Frank's army as soon as possible at the pass. That's important. They must be really desperate."

Reyna understood. She knew that the pass was pretty much the only thing stopping Gaea's army from invading both Rome and Greece. Even if Apollo had set this up, he was god of prophecy, he knew things like this. If he was wanting this camp to go help General Frank, one of the best in Rome, things were serious.

Really serious.

* * *

**Thanks, as always, for every single bit of support!**

**Disclaimer: This is ridiculous, Nobody owns this stuff. Just kidding, Nobody doesn't and neither do I.**


	9. Grief On A Pass

"Are you nervous?" Reyna asked Annabeth as they trudged along with the other soldiers at the rear of the line. Being the best in camp, they had immediately been elected to protect the end of the soldiers.

Annabeth smirked and motioned to the front, where Leo walked alongside Hazel on her horse. "Not as much as him. If he keeps going on like that, we'll all be burned to death before we even get there."

Reyna had to choke back a laugh. It was true though. In the last hour alone they'd had to put out four fires and extinguish Leo's hair about five. Piper had been extremely busy, running back and forth and tending to every burn. Ever since then, he'd managed to keep it down to smoking so that he looked like a near explosive volcano, but that wasn't exactly reassuring either.

She looked ahead at the half empty water barrel laying in the wagon. She was pretty sure that would be empty before they arrived at the pass. "Wouldn't you think that he would be more trained to keep control of his emotions? Do the Greeks not train in that area?" Reyna asked.

"He's gotten better, really. It's the pressure of the situation. Just give him a chance," Annabeth said.

"How would you know that he's gotten better? Did you know him before this camp?" Reyna questioned through the wind that was beginning to blow. She could tell they were getting higher in elevation, meaning they were close to the pass.

Annabeth must've inferred this too, because she started to double-check her armor. "No, I didn't know him. But I watched him train from the palace."

"The palace? Meaning King Perseus?"

Annabeth gave her a cautious look. "He doesn't like to be called that. Just Percy. And yes, the palace." Annabeth studied Reyna. "I suppose I can trust you, right?"

Reyna nodded. "Of course."

"Alright, so I live at the palace. Not as a maid or anything, no, actually it's a little bit different than that. See, I'm supposed to be queen," she explained. Reyna kept her face straight, though her heart was bursting in surprise.

Annabeth continued. "But when that proclamation was sent out, you know, the one that forced a man from every family to fight, I ran away from the palace to protect my father. I was angry at Percy for that, so I disguised myself and took my father's place. I feel awful for leaving Percy like that, but I had to go. I had to."

Reyna nodded. "Piper keeps an eye on Percy for you, doesn't she? I saw her looking into her dagger one day and she said she looks at things for you."

"Yeah, but her dagger isn't completely reliable either. It doesn't' always show the whole story, or it can completely mislead you. But as far as we have been able to determine that both Percy and the Emperor are going to fight in the war themselves. It worries me."

Reyna didn't respond and continued trudging on through the thickening rocks. It was just her luck, really, that both of the men she's ever taken a liking to were taken. Not like she had really ever thought she actually had a chance with either of them anyway, she wasn't one of those girls. It was just unfair. Now she just had to find out that Leo was taken too, then her luck would be perfectly unlucky.

They didn't talk until they were near the pass, when the whole group of soldiers began to speak nervously to each other about the prospect of joining General Frank's army.

Annabeth looked over to Reyna. "Are you ready?"

"As ever," Reyna responded. Yeah, sure, Reyna had spent her whole life fighting and learning how to work in an army, but that didn't make her any more ready. The camp wasn't so bad. It was just a bunch of Greeks who barely knew how to lift a sword. But this, this was a army, an actually _army_ where every move she made mattered.

But then the chatter stopped at once as a piercing wail filled the air. Reyna and Annabeth pushed through the crowd towards the noise to find Hazel kneeling down on the ground, her body shaking as she held a broken bow while Leo looked around in disbelief.

Annabeth rushed to Hazel's side to console her, and Reyna followed Leo's lead at looking around at the pass. Around them, tents were burned and mangled bodies and weapons littered the ground. It was horrifying.

Reyna approached Leo. "They were ambushed, weren't they?"

Leo twirled his long fingers. "I don't know how else to explain it," he said shortly. He glanced at Hazel, then faced the camp. "Clean up, and look for any clues that might lead us to Gaea!" he yelled to the camp.

The camp bustled into somber motion, but Reyna made no movement to help, instead staying beside Leo who was awkwardly looking at Hazel and Annabeth. "I've never been good with people," he said to Reyna quietly.

"I've noticed. She- Hazel, was married to General Frank wasn't she? What if we can't find his body?" Reyna asked, looking at Leo intently.

Leo sighed. "I don't know, Rey, I don't. We don't even have time for a proper burial, the best we can do is send him off and go after Gaea since her army is now in our territory. We had to of passed right by them on our way up!"

"It will be fine. We'll just track them down ourselves again and we'll stop them," Reyna reassured.

Leo turned to Reyna, tearing his eyes away from Hazel. "Rey, do you think you could-"

"Colonel! No sign of General Frank's body," Octavian interrupted loudly, causing Hazel to wail again.

Leo tossed Octavian an irritated look, which Octavian was sure to scribble down. "Just when I think you're done being annoying, you do that. Real smooth Octavian, and that's coming from me and I'm terrible with girls."

Reyna had to look away to avoid blushing, which would be odd considering she was a man. She didn't know what had gotten into her. Reyna, daughter of Bellona, blushing at a time like this? She decided it was a good time to help Annabeth with Hazel.

She knelt beside Hazel on the opposite side of Annabeth. Annabeth looked over to Reyna with sadness in her eyes. Reyna understood. This could be Annabeth, crying over Percy's death. Or Piper. Or even herself.

Hazel looked up with red eyes. "I-I've got to-got to go h-home!" she sobbed, clutching the broken bow. Annabeth tried to pry it away, but Hazel held fast.

"Rey, can you go get Piper for me? I need her to uh, _talk_ to Hazel," Annabeth asked.

Reyna nodded and stood. She examined the camp for Piper and found her checking a body near a burned tent. Reyna quickly walked over to her and seen that she was in about the same state as Annabeth as she felt for a nonexistent heartbeat on the obviously dead soldier.

"Piper, we need you to speak with Hazel, if that's alright," Reyna told her softly.

Piper stood up and looked over to Hazel. "She's so young. Too young to be widowed already. Why do the gods…" she trailed off as they began to walk.

As soon as they approached Hazel, Piper collapsed in front of her and began to comfort her gently. "It's hard, I know, but you have to push through. It's what he would want you to do. He will be honored for his sacrifice," Reyna heard Piper say.

Hazel wouldn't talk, but her sobbing slowed down. Now she was in a state of shock from the reality of things. Reyna didn't know what to do, but she didn't want to awkwardly stand by the situation so she decided to go back to Leo. Once she got close, Leo cut Octavian off and acknowledged Reyna.

"Anything that might lead us to them?" he asked. Octavian huffed and walked away at the interruption.

Reyna shook her head solemnly. "Nothing, Colonel."

"You can call me Leo, you know. Colonel just makes me sound all official and powerful, and looking at this right now I'm just not feeling it," Leo said.

Annabeth walked up with General Frank's bow and gave it to Leo. "Hazel wishes this to be burned in honor of Frank and all who died. She also wishes to take her horse and ride back to Rome to rest for a time for recovery. Do you give your permission?"

Leo glanced over to Hazel, fiddling with the broken pieces of the bow. "Yes, she has my permission. And Ann?"

"Yes, Colonel?"

"Tell her-tell her I'm sorry."

Annabeth nodded and walked back over to Hazel and Piper. Reyna looked over to Leo, who was holding the bow. "Do you want me to take that?" she asked.

Leo clutched the wood a little tighter. "No. But I want you to come with me to burn it."

* * *

They stood near the edge of the tallest rock that was climbable on the pass, staring at the scene below. To Reyna, it seemed that it was even worse from above, so she tried her hardest not to look down.

Leo planted the pieces of the bow firmly into the dirt so that they were standing upright. Reyna kneeled next to Leo as he slowly lifted his hand and lay it on the first piece.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Reyna responded.

The wood caught fire, the flames scorching through the delicate carvings of animals on the bow. Leo moved his hand to the other pieces until all were burning brightly alongside the first.

They both stayed silent, which was untraditional. Normally a list of all the good tributes would be read, his life story, and the passing on described. But there were not any words to be said that could make the situation better or more formal.

So they sat there in complete silence, with Leo uncharacteristically staring off into the light of the flames, his eyes glistening and his hands unmoving. Reyna didn't think she had ever seen his hands not doing something.

After a short while, nothing remained except smoldering ashes. The way Leo still stared off into space was starting to scare Reyna, so she pushed him slightly to shake him out of it.

Leo's eyes widened as he looked at the source of contact. "Okay, I've got to be dreaming!"

"Um, Leo? This isn't the time to…Are you okay?" Reyna asked, slightly backing away. She wasn't in the mood to be attacked by a psycho general at the moment.

Leo pointed at her, his long fingers shaking and slightly smoking. "You-you're a-a girl!"

Panic rose in Reyna's chest, but she didn't let it show. "What are you talking about? Do I need to get Piper?"

"I'm pretty sure I can tell the difference between a girl and a boy, and either you're a womanly man or you're a girl!" Leo half shouted.

Reyna glanced down below to see if anyone had heard him. Thankfully, they were pretty high up. "You're being ridiculous," she stated. Reyna checked her shirt to make sure nothing was showing, and found she was perfectly covered.

It was Leo's turn to back away. "Stay away scary woman thing!"

"I'm not a disease!" Reyna protested.

"So you admit to being one?"

Reyna tackled Leo, pinning him to the ground. "If you tell anyone, I swear I will hunt you down and send you straight to the Underworld. Got it?"

"Got it!" Leo said. "Please don't kill me," he added.

Reyna unpinned him and sat up. "How did you know?" she demanded.

Leo pulled himself up and looked at Reyna cautiously. "Your hair fell out and well let's face it, you already looked pretty girly as it was and with hair it was pretty much confirming. Just saying…But you're one of the prettiest soldiers I've ever met."

* * *

**Thanks for everything!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, pretty sure that is very obvious**


	10. Saving Leo

The search for Gaea had so far proven to be uneventful. Which was good in some ways, bad in others. Considering the fact they were traveling on land, it was good that she hadn't shown herself and her army. It was bad because it meant she had a target, most likely somewhere important. Like Rome or Athens. She wouldn't be bothered with a little army like theirs.

Reyna's legs ached like no other, but Scipio was currently giving Annabeth a break from walking. They had been taking turns all day on him, but that didn't make her legs hurt any less. She could only imagine how the other soldiers felt, who weren't as lucky to have a horse to ride. Reyna could occasionally catch an envious soldier glance back and give them a glare.

"You told him, didn't you?" Annabeth asked, pulling Reyna out of her thoughts.

Reyna didn't understand what she meant at first, but then she looked in the direction of Annabeth's eyes and got it. "I didn't exactly tell Leo, he more like found out when my hair fell out. Maybe I should've cut it shorter," Reyna said quietly. Even though they were far back from the nearest soldier, she still wanted to be extra cautious.

"He's not going to reveal you?" Annabeth said questionably in disbelief.

Reyna grabbed Scipio's reins for support. "No, I don't think he minds. Plus he acted a little scared of me."

Annabeth stroked Scipio's neck softly. "He should be. But I would be careful in the ways you interact with each other, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Reyna asked.

"I mean, don't flirt or people will get suspicious," Annabeth said, as if it should be obvious.

Reyna crossed her arms. "I _do not _flirt with anyone, especially General Leo!"

Annabeth gave her a sympathetic look. "Of course you don't."

Reyna decided that it was a good time to end this conversation, so she walked ahead with Scipio's reins still in her hand. Reyna wasn't a coward, but she didn't want to face the cold reality of her feelings for Leo. She'd felt rejection and loss one too many times, and with her luck, Leo probably didn't even like her. In fact, after this war (assuming they both survived,) Reyna was pretty sure Leo wouldn't even give her a second glance.

She examined the front of the army, which seemed oddly empty without Hazel and her horse, Arion. Leo was whistling and building objects and talking to Piper while Octavian kept throwing annoyed glances and writing things down. The rest of the army was sullenly walking along behind them, not really paying attention to anything in particular.

Suddenly, Reyna saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She snapped her head around, trying to find the source of movement. She scanned the mountains and the trees for any more, but she didn't find anything. Reyna knew it couldn't have been any of their army because she and Annabeth were the last ones in line. Maybe it was an animal or something?

"I saw it also," Annabeth said, leaning forward on Scipio.

Reyna looked back in disbelief. "You did? What do you think it was?"

Annabeth grimaced. "I'm not sure. It's hard to tell monsters from mere animals, assuming Gaea's army has monsters in it. Which I'm sure it does. She couldn't survive only on brainwashed, possessed people."

"I'm going to go report it to Leo, if that's alright with you. Scipio likes you, so I don't think he'll do anything stupid," Reyna said, handing the reins over to Annabeth.

Annabeth replied, but Reyna was already on her way, pushing through the army to get to the front. Soldiers yelled at her to get back to the end of the line, but Reyna ignored them and pushed through. One soldier dared to hit Reyna in the arm and though she was tempted to turn around and punch him, she continued on. Once Reyna was in Leo's earshot, she yelled.

"Leo!"

Leo turned around at the recognition of her voice. Reyna stumbled up closer to him, breathing hard. "We seen…something! Don't…know what…but it was something!" Reyna said between breaths.

"What do you think we should do then?" Leo asked, glancing over to Octavian.

Reyna looked around to the mountains. "You're in charge! But I think we should…stay on guard, just in case it was part of Gaea's army. And we should be quiet, not make any excess noise."

Leo followed her gaze, and began to mess with the belt around his waist. "I don't know why we're traveling over land in the first place. Why didn't I build a flying ship or something cool like that?" he mumbled to himself.

"Because you would've never had the time, that's why," Reyna answered shortly. She stepped back into the first row of soldiers. "I'm going to spread the word to be on guard."

Reyna left before he could answer, she didn't want Octavian to write any more of their conversations down. It got annoying after a while. She walked along the soldiers swiftly, telling them the news. Most had already been intently listening to their conversation, so they had heard and spread on.

She was almost to the end of the line when she arrived at the carriage full of ammunition and weapons. Some younger soldiers were guarding it poorly, too busy messing around and not paying attention to anything that was going on. They kept picking up dirt and throwing it at each other, unaware that a very angry Reyna was about to yell at them.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing, idiots?" Reyna scolded as quietly as possible.

A redhead dropped the dirt he'd had in his hands. "Just having a bit of fun, that's all. Nothing harmful," he said innocently.

Reyna grabbed him by the collar. "Are you aware of the fact that this army may be being watched at the moment by Gaea? You could've given us away! So knock it off and watch the cart like you're supposed to, got it?"

The redhead nodded nervously and Reyna released her hold on him. But one of the other boys had not been listening, and he continued on with his antics. Reyna reached over to smack him upside the head, but it was too late. The boy tripped over a rock, accidentally triggering his gun into the air.

The air was deathly quiet after the gunshot. Reyna looked at the mountain in panic and slapped the boy. "You just gave away our position!"

Leo started to run over to the back of the line by Reyna. "What's going on back here?"

Reyna pointed to the boys by the cart. "These boys were messing around-"

She was cut off as she saw something fly in front of her and hit Leo right in the shoulder. Leo cursed and dropped to the ground. "Leo!" she yelled and fell forward to him.

Leo pushed her away and pointed. "Rey, watch out!"

Reyna turned quickly and seen a horde of arrows come flying straight at the army. Thankfully, Annabeth had it together.

"Take cover!" Annabeth yelled, jumping off Scipio and grabbing a shield.

The army snapped out of shock and into action. Reyna pulled Leo up and jumped onto her horse, running straight for the invisible army. The arrows had stopped flying, leaving their army in disarray. Reyna scanned the mountain for the source, but they had stopped firing for just that reason. Gaea didn't want them to know what direction they were coming from.

Reyna backed up on Scipio and rode towards Leo and Annabeth, who had her dagger out. "What now?" she asked.

"We wait," Annabeth answered. "If we continue on, they'll just follow us and ambush us from behind. We have to wait for them to show themselves and fight them here. This is our stand."

Piper pushed through the crowd and gently grabbed Leo's shoulder. "Leo, let me wrap it, please. I've done everybody's except yours."

Leo turned away from Piper. "No, it's fine. Just make sure the rest of the world is before me. You've got a few bloody spots as well."

Reyna moved Scipio behind Leo, leaned down, and grabbed his torso and neck firmly. "Now do it, Piper."

"Hey! That's not fair!" Leo said, squirming against Reyna's hold.

Piper smiled and started to tend to the wound. "Thanks, Reyna."

"It's no problem, really. And Leo, you know that you couldn't fight a battle with your arm like that. How stupid are you?" Reyna asked. Scipio turned his head and lightly bit Leo's side.

Leo gasped as Piper applied alcohol at the same time. "You're a ray of sunshine today, aren't you? I thought we were on the same side!" he said to Scipio. He paused for a moment, then laughed. "Haha, get it? Ray, Rey?"

Reyna rolled her eyes. At the mention of sunshine, Reyna was reminded of her "guardian", Apollo. She hadn't seen him for a while, in fact, the last mention she'd heard of him was when he "helped" by sending them to General Frank's camp.

"Has anyone else heard anything about the gods lately?" Reyna blurted. Piper stopped working on Leo and shared a look with Annabeth.

Annabeth rubbed the handle on her dagger and looked up at Reyna. "You haven't heard? They've retreated into Olympus. They won't be helping us with this war. At least for a while."

Reyna was astounded by this news. "How to they expect us to-"

"THEY'RE COMING!" Octavian screamed, running towards them and pointing to the mountainside on the north.

Reyna let go of Leo and followed Octavian's finger. Sure enough, a very unfriendly army was running down the mountain, probably screaming and yelling about how they were going to demolish Leo's army. The odd thing was though, that the army was not made up of monsters like Annabeth had guessed. Instead, they were regular men. Maybe brainwashed psycho men, but they were still violent and would kill Reyna without a second thought.

Again, Annabeth had it together first. "Let's go, let's go!" she yelled to the army, snapping them out of the initial shock again.

Reyna went into action, following the running soldiers with Scipio. Reyna watched from behind as the two bloodthirsty armies clashed just below the mountain. She pushed on, though she didn't want to. This was her time to prove herself, so why wasn't she trying hard?

Reyna dove into the fight on Scipio, slashing and stabbing without thinking, trying to ease the pain her mind was going through at the moment. It was easier if she didn't think about what she was doing. The opposing side were just a bunch of training dummies, and she was at home, practicing.

A loud bang of a cannon going off near her broke her from her thoughts. Reyna looked around the battle ground. They were greatly outnumbered, five to one at least. There was no way they could win this battle. Reyna would normally solve this problem by fighting her hardest, and if she died, she died with honor. If they lost and the whole army died, that's just what happened.

But Leo's lesson with the candle and pole had changed her way of thinking. She hated to admit it, but she would have to solve this problem "Leo-Style", as he would've put it.

Reyna backed out of the battle and searched the mountain. She needed a weak spot, one she could hit with a cannon and make it collapse. Her eyes found one almost immediately, and it was perfect. One dilemma, though: the best spot to shoot from was currently occupied by a swirling mass of dirt that Reyna was sure would form into Gaea if she didn't get there fast enough.

"Scipio, go!" Reyna yelled to her horse over the noise of battle. They galloped over to their headquarters, where Piper was handing out weapons and cannons nonstop.

As they approached, Piper wiped a hand across her forehead. "Cannon?" she asked, reaching into the cart.

Reyna nodded. "Yes, quickly now!" she said impatiently.

Piper handed her a small cannon. "It's small, but it's the last one. Make it count!" she yelled as Reyna kicked Scipio and galloped away.

She rushed through her side of the army and tried to go around the other side to avoid any more bloodshed from her. A few opposing soldiers tried to bring her down by attacking Scipio, but he was smart and armored.

"What are you doing?"

Reyna turned at the sound of Leo's voice coming from the fight. "I'm fixing the problem! Focus on staying alive!"

She didn't stay for his response, she had a job to do. It was very likely that the majority of both armies would not survive, but Reyna had to risk it. If she could defeat Gaea, or at least stop her rising, the rest of her armies would fall. And if that meant sacrificing her life and everyone else's, it would be worth it.

Reyna bounded off of Scipio as they got closer to the swirling dirt. The ground felt like quicksand beneath her feet, but she knew Gaea was just messing with her. Reyna positioned the cannon the best she could without getting any closer to the mass of earth.

"You will fail," a sickening, lulling voice said from the mass as she found her aim. "It will all be for nothing. I should like to take your life here, Reyna, dear."

Reyna hesitated. "How do you know my name?"

"I am the earth. I know and hear _everything_. You know this is dangerous, a very big risk, so why do it at all? Your _precious_ Leo could die. Give up, and let my army win. The world will be better," Gaea's voice taunted.

Reyna struck a match. "No. I want you to watch me as your army dies and Leo doesn't. I know this is a big risk, but I am Reyna, daughter of Bellona, and _I_ am not a coward!"

She lit the cannon on fire and closed her eyes, hoping desperately that she had aimed correctly. A loud rumble ensued, whether it was from the mountain or Gaea's anger, she didn't know. Curiosity got the best of Reyna, and she looked around at the mountain. The collapsing mountain.

Reyna whooped in victory. She'd done it! "Take that, Gaea!" she yelled at the receding mass.

"Goodbye, brave Reyna," Gaea said pleasantly. Then the earth shifted below Reyna's knees and she began to sink alongside Gaea. She felt a rock or something sharp hit her chest violently, and Reyna gasped in pain.

Reyna panicked. "Scipio!" she yelled.

Scipio bounded over, letting Reyna grab his reins as he pulled her out. Reyna swung onto him and they galloped, racing the crumbling mountain slide of rocks.

She caught Leo's eye, and he voiced what had passed between the both of their minds. "RETREAT! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Okay, so maybe that wasn't exactly what Reyna hadn't been thinking, maybe a little less dramatic, but it worked. Reyna began to yell it alongside him, passing it to the remaining soldiers that weren't already killed in battle or by the rockslide.

Suddenly, a rock came out of no where and smacked into Leo's side. "Leo!" Reyna yelled, kicking Scipio over to where Leo lay on the ground.

They somehow maneuvered over to him without getting hit by any major rocks, and Reyna held out her hand to Leo, eyeing the flow of rocks coming towards them. "Give me your hand!"

Leo groggily lifted his hand before falling unconscious. Reyna caught it just in time and quickly pulled him up onto Scipio with a little difficulty. Scipio neighed nervously, and Reyna looked up to see a giant piece of rock coming straight towards them.

"Go!" she screamed, and they sprinted towards the closest boulder.

* * *

**Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for absolutely everything!**

**And if anybody needs an idea for something to write, I have something that would be _amazing_ to do with Leo, if you could figure out how to do it and make it awesome! If you want it, pm me and I'll tell you!**


	11. Death And Debt

Scipio slammed them into the protection of the boulder just in time.

Reyna collapsed and pulled Leo against the wall of rock, breathing hard. She shook Leo desperately, just wanting some support. "Leo, come on! Wake up, you stupid man!"

With no response, Reyna sighed and leaned her head against the rock, waiting for the rockslide to end. Suddenly, Leo's dirt covered body shifted in her arms.

"Leo! Are you okay?" she asked, worried.

He didn't open his eyes, but Reyna could see a faint smile play on his lips. "Reyna, this is the part where you desperately kiss me in hopes of bringing me back to life, like in those plays back home!"

Reyna smirked and pushed him away. "Keep dreaming, Leo. I am not going to kiss you."

Leo opened his eyes and stiffly sat up beside her. "But you want to," he teased.

"Absolutely not. Maybe I have a lover back home that I would prefer to kiss," Reyna said stubbornly.

"Ah, but I think you have misunderstood. Ladies cannot resist the charm of all this," he said gesturing to himself.

Reyna crossed her arms, ignoring the stinging pain in her chest that made it hard to breathe. "Oh really? And who are all these women, may I ask?" she questioned, trying to keep the curiosity and jealously out of her voice.

"Uh, well there's…um…You know, there are just too many to keep track of names!" Leo stumbled.

Reyna laughed. "Exactly my point. You've got no one!" she said, as if expecting that answer. But in reality, her heart was bursting with joy.

"Well, Miss Doubtful, then who's your beloved man who you just can't wait to return to?" Leo asked in an offended voice.

Reyna pretended to be interested in the slowing pace of the rockslide, but Leo just stared at her creepily. Reyna sighed and looked away from Leo's eyes. "I never said I had anyone back home to return to."

"There's gotta be someone. I mean, how can an amazing woman like you be single?"

She ignored him and stood up, wincing at the pain, and hesitantly looked beyond the bolder for anymore signs of danger. Reyna immediately wished she hadn't. Dead, mangled bodies littered the battleground, over beaten by the rocks like meat at the market. She looked for any familiar bodies, but they were beyond recognition.

Leo tried to stand, but Reyna ushered him down again. "Don't. You don't have enough energy. Besides, you really don't want to see this," she said in response to his questioning look.

"Are we the only ones who survived?" he asked, a tint of remorse in his voice.

"I don't know, I'll go look. Stay here, Scipio will protect you. Right, Scipio?" Scipio snorted in objection, but Reyna moved out from the protection of the boulder anyway.

Reyna stepped on the newly rocky gravel, observing for any sign that Gaea's presence was still around. Sensing nothing, she walked more freely around the desolate battleground, stepping over the sad looking bodies.

"Reyna!" Leo called from behind the boulder.

She turned. "What?" she asked quickly.

Leo pointed over to a distant place to the east. "I think I see Piper and a few others! Whether those others are enemies, and they just have Piper under capture, I don't know, but they're alive!"

Reyna ran over to him, holding her chest. "Should we approach them?"

"I don't see why not. What do we have to lose?"

"Um, our lives."

Leo shrugged. "Then we shall die with honor! Isn't that what all you Romans say?" he said dramatically, like he was the star in a theater production.

Reyna stifled a laugh. Normally, she would agree with that statement, but hearing it come from Leo just made it sound ridiculous. "Yeah, that's what us Romans say."

As they walked on towards the people, Reyna gradually found it harder to breath. She began to cough after a while, and those coughs eventually started to produce blood. She could feel the pain rising rapidly in her chest, making her feel so light-headed that she could barely walk. Reyna tried to keep her condition a secret from Leo, but he noticed.

"Hey, are you alright?" he said in a concerned voice.

Reyna removed one hand from her chest. "Fine. I'm fine."

Leo grabbed her shoulder to stop her from veering over to the side again. "Reyna, I think you should get on your horse for the rest of the ride. You don't look too good," he suggested.

Reyna wanted to object, but she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to make it if she didn't. So she just nodded and allowed Leo to softly help her onto Scipio.

They went on, Leo nervously looking back at Reyna every five seconds, until they got near the group. As they got there, Reyna realized that they weren't enemies at all. Piper was there, of course, but with Annabeth and Octavian (unfortunately), and a few others from camp that she recognized. They looked beaten up with tons of cuts and bruises, but they were alive.

Piper ran forward with Annabeth. "You guys saved us! Rey, that was the bravest thing I've ever seen anyone do, and with a plan worthy of Athena!"

Annabeth nodded her head approvingly. "I'm proud of you, Rey. You'd better get stacks of honors when you get back to Rome."

Reyna weakly smiled and tried to get off her horse. Leo came to the rescue and helped her off, but as soon as Reyna attempted to stand, she crumbled to the ground.

"Reyna!" Leo cried, crouching down to stop her head from hitting the gravel. "You're bleeding! What happened?"

"Had…to…save you," Reyna coughed. She vaguely heard people rushing around to help her, but Reyna didn't know if she was savable. The only thing she could focus on was Leo's face.

He held her face roughly. "Reyna, don't leave me. Stay here!" he repeated over and over.

Reyna felt consciousness leave her, and the last thing she saw was Leo's pleading face, screaming at her to stay.

* * *

Reyna woke up sweaty, dazed and confused. She was in a tent of some sort, and she could feel the hot sun beating down upon it fiercely.

She tried to remember why she was here, and could vaguely remember a piercing pain in her chest and collapsing onto Leo. She remembered the battle and Gaea's taunting words, and she remembered her talk with Leo that she had ended up avoiding.

Reyna turned over, listening to the sounds of the outside. She heard hushed talking, but she couldn't identify any words or people. So she just laid there and thought about her current condition. Reyna felt her chest upon realizing the absence of pain, and found bandages tightly wrapped around it.

There was no way she should've been able to live through that. It was a fatal wound put there by Gaea to kill her. How did she survive?

The tent flap moved, revealing Piper in light weight wear and carrying tons of medical supplies. She smiled only slightly when she seen Reyna was awake, and Reyna wondered what that was about.

"Good morning, Reyna," Piper said solemnly. She then leaned over and began to mix some medicine.

Reyna put her head up on a bunch of pillows. "How long have I been out? And how am I still alive?"

Piper grimaced and handed her a cup full of golden liquid stuff. "A day and a half. And you had some illegal godly help from Apollo to heal you. Something about being your protector? I don't know, but you're alive for now."

"For now?"

"Reyna, when you collapsed everyone came to help. I mean, you saved us all! But when I say everyone, I mean _everyone_…well, except Octavian. Reyna, most the survivors know you're a woman," Piper said gently.

Reyna drank the liquid, not really absorbing the deliciousness of it. She was just worried about what Piper said. "Then why am I not dead yet?"

Piper sat down next to Reyna. "Leo forbid it. And Octavian doesn't know yet, but that could change at any time. I don't completely trust some of those men. I'm worried, Reyna."

"I'll be okay," Reyna sighed, not completely believing her own words. Truth was, she wouldn't be okay if Octavian found out. Leo would be forced to kill her for sneaking in and impersonating a soldier.

Piper shook her head sadly and stood up. "I'll go tell them that you've woken up, but I want you to go back to sleep so that your medicine can settle in without draining you," she said as she left.

Reyna was left alone, and completely bored out of her mind. She wanted to be out there doing something instead of laying in a seething hot tent when she was feeling perfectly fine. Reyna could feel her energy boiling in her body, aching to be let out.

But she just laid there, following Piper's orders. Seconds, minutes, and hours past until Reyna heard some commotion outside, jerking her from her boredom. She opened her ears and heard yelling in different tones, one pleading and the other angry.

Reyna stiffened as she heard footsteps nearing her tent. She laid her head down tight against the pillow as the tent flap roughly opened. Reyna didn't dare look to see who it was, but she recognized by their voices.

"We must identify the truth, it will be preposterous if it really is a woman! A dishonor to the city I call my home!" Octavian said to the others as they entered the tent behind her.

"Octavian, don't you lay a hand on one of my soldiers!" Leo defended in a growling voice. Reyna hoped he wouldn't start a fire.

"My General, it is for the good of our army to remove rule breakers. If we do not, we will be thrown into chaos and disorder. Now you two, reveal the truth!" Octavian ordered to someone, Reyna guessed a couple of soldiers that were next to him.

She heard shuffling towards her, and Reyna's emotions grew. She wasn't going to just be attacked and checked for her gender, she did have privacy even if she was supposed to be a man. "Don't touch me!" she ordered, sitting up suddenly in her bed.

Wrong choice, she realized too late, as Octavian pointed excitedly in a _I-told-you-so _way. "Look! It is clear without armor that this Rey is most certainly a _woman_!"

The soldiers stopped in their tracks, Annabeth and Piper shared a nervous glance, and Leo just stared, like he didn't know what to do next. Reyna wondered what their problem was, then she realized that in the process of sitting up that the blankets had fallen off, and Reyna was only wearing an undershirt. It didn't show anything, but it was enough to get the basic idea.

"Look, I can explain!" Reyna said quickly.

Octavian held up a hand and turned to Leo. "It is the law, you must do away with this imposter immediately."

Leo ran his fingers through his hair. "I just…uh…I just need a moment!" he said frustratedly. He left the tent, and Octavian and everyone else followed.

Reyna decided to take manners into her own hands and ran after them into the hot twilight. "Just listen to me!" she said to Leo, but it was directed at Octavian.

"Tell us your story then," Leo responded, playing along.

Octavian scoffed disapprovingly, but Reyna ignored him. "My name is Reyna. I came from Rome in place of my father in hopes of saving his life. He has some health issues, and he would not survive a battle. I did this for my father, please understand!"

"Your father would have died with honor and nobility, he did not need a woman to come take his place so that he may live!" Octavian pointed out.

"Octavian, look at her. She just did what she thought was the right thing to do, let her go," Leo pleaded, tapping his fingers in anxiety.

Octavian's face stayed determined. "General, even you must obey the laws. If you do not…well, we have discussed the consequences, haven't we?"

Reyna understood what Octavian was doing. He was making it seem like Leo's fault if he didn't take action on Reyna's rule breaking. Reyna wasn't going to let that happen, she would take responsibility for her own actions. "Kill me, General Leo. I deserve it," she said solemnly.

"I can't, Reyna. I don't think I have it in me to kill an innocent person," he responded quietly, just enough for Reyna to hear and not Octavian.

"Kill her!" Octavian repeated.

Smoke began to billow from Leo's curly hair as he forcibly pulled out a sword. Reyna put down her head, not daring to look into Leo's eyes one last time. She sensed the sword being raised upon her, but he hesitated. After a moment, Reyna heard the air movement from the sword being swung downward, and she said goodbye to her life.

But she was still alive. Reyna looked around her in wonder, and found the sword firmly pushed into the dirt next to her.

"Why did you do that?" Octavian asked shrilly.

Leo brushed his smoky hair off. "She saved my life, I save her life. Debt repaid."

* * *

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	12. Still Alive

All Reyna could do was just stand there as what was left of the army abandoned her, leaving for Rome.

It's not like anybody could have helped her without making the situation worse, so Reyna couldn't be mad at anyone. If Annabeth would have tried to defend her, she would have been asked to prove she was a man. If Piper or Leo had tried to defend, they would have risked trial for knowing that an illegal was at the camp.

Reyna slumped against a smoldering rock, attempting to escape the heat of the newly created desert. Scipio whinnied and trotted around in boredom. It was so quiet that Reyna was sure she could almost hear the heat waves vibrating off the rocks.

She decided that she hated heat. Reyna would think, with Apollo being her guardian, that he would have a little mercy and loosen up on the sun's intensity. But she supposed that his help had expired for now, he had after all healed her from something that should have taken her life.

Mostly, though, Reyna hated the hotness because it reminded her of Leo. Everything about Leo was hot. Woah. It sounded a little weird when she thought of it that way. But it was true, in a different way. Leo radiated heat, and the intensity of the sun was doing no good to help her forget about the last events that just occurred.

Leo had hung back purposely as the remains of the army packed up camp and left. Octavian was watching Reyna closely, so she had to make herself look busy as Leo talked to her.

"Will I ever see you again?" he asked, shoving the tent roughly in a bag.

Reyna adjusted Scipio's halter. "Maybe. Do you want to see me again?"

"Do you want to see _me_ again?"

Reyna sighed and moved on to Scipio's saddle. "Supposing I did want to, where would you be found?"

Leo started to laugh, but ceased as Octavian looked over suspiciously. "Simple. Follow the essence of awesome."

"What kind of help is that? This isn't Hansel and Gretel," Reyna snapped.

"So you're admitting to wanting to see me again?"

"I said nothing of the sort!"

"Are you ready, General?" a soldier yelled out, ruining the moment.

Leo gave Reyna an apologetic look and grabbed the tent bag. He ran to the group but then stopped half way. "Rome. I'll wait in Rome for you," he said. Then Leo had turned around and left Reyna.

It had surprised Reyna, really. Did Leo really like her back? Was this her happy ending? Maybe Venus did have some pity for her, and decided that it was time for her to find love. Well, assuming Reyna made it back to Rome alive and was able to find Leo again.

Reyna should have been happy. She could go home now. Home safe Rome. Safe because of her. Reyna wasn't greedy, but she deserved to be honored. She had defeated Gaea, for all the gods sakes! But Reyna was a woman, and giving a woman honors like that just wasn't accepted. If she was a man, it would be a different story. It was unfair. It was worthless to mope though. Being discovered was bound to happen, she was just surprised she had lasted this long.

Deciding that the rock was doing nothing to save her from the heat, Reyna began to pace the rocky desert. She felt like ranting, so she decided to speak with Scipio since her cicada protector was currently non present.

"Scipio, I don't know why I'm here. I mean, I know why I'm here, but I don't know _why_ I'm here, if that makes any sense. Why did the Fates send me here? There has to be a reason, doesn't there?" she said, irritated.

Scipio just gave her a blank stare and looked away to the horizon. Reyna sighed and turned her gaze to match Scipio's. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky, signaling twilight's beginning. Reyna walked off, starting to circle the mountain to feel like she had done some progress.

It was quite a ride from here to Rome, that Reyna could tell. Scipio trotted after her as they walked on towards home together. She was hungry, but the camp had left her no food other than some nectar and ambrosia in Scipio's saddlebag.

They climbed the mountain, trying to find a nice path made by the herders. Reyna mumbled to herself as she went on. "Maybe I was just trying to prove I was useful. Not some useless woman who doesn't know how to run a home. And I have proven myself, but it didn't work. And I'll do it again if I have to. If I have to spend my life proving myself, then I will."

Scipio paid no attention to her, but he began to pick up a trot so that Reyna had to jog after him. She stumbled over the rocks following him until he stopped suddenly. Reyna reached an arm around him and gently spoke.

"What's wrong, Scipio?" she asked.

Scipio's peanut butter ears perked up. Reyna looked around at the surroundings and looked down at the ground from the mountain. She was glad that they were on a rock mountain, because what she saw made her heart nearly stop in panic.

The sand down below was rippling with Gaea's sickening voice, as if she was singing a lullaby. Her face would randomly form, then fade as she spoke, making Reyna want to look away but stare at the same time.

Reyna wondered what she was doing, but then understood as things began to form from the soil. Reyna didn't exactly know what they were, but they appeared to be warriors made of the earth.

She was astonished. How did Gaea survive? If that didn't get rid of her, Reyna didn't know what they were going to do next.

But Reyna did know what she had to do next. She had to follow the essence of awesomeness, and she had to do it quick.

* * *

Everyone else in Rome was rejoicing, so why wasn't he?

Well, that could be because Leo had just left the most amazing, perfect, totally out of his league woman behind, or it could be…nope, that was definitely it. It had to be.

Leo walked through the streets of Rome with the remains of his army, the townspeople screaming and yelling as they congratulated them. His army walked proudly, accepting the thanks. The noise was unbearable and just made Leo want to go home and start working on his next project. He was done being a general if he had to deal with laws against women.

Leo wanted to embrace the grandeur of Rome, but it was kind of hard when his mind kept bouncing back to Reyna. Because to Leo, Rome represented everything that Reyna was; beautiful, threatening, powerful, and deadly, couldn't forget the deadly part.

They walked up the steps to Emperor Jason's large privet villa to greet him, and Leo subconsciously checked his hair for any soakage. He really should've asked Reyna on the best way to learn how to control his emotions. He reminded himself to do that later, when he seen Reyna again. _If_ he seen Reyna again.

_Oh, stop it Leo, _he chided himself,_ Just fix the world and move on, you've never had good luck with women anyways._

"But Reyna was different," his mind retorted back.

Reyna was different, there was no denying that. So determined, emotionless, like a safe. She was all locked up inside, and Leo would love to figure out the combination and set her free. Reyna had tons of potential to be even more amazing, but Leo felt like he was still locked out of her mind, and she trapped inside. He wished he could just pry it open and steal her heart. He knew she had stolen his.

But tragically, Leo had, um….issues with other humans, especially girls. Amazing, gorgeous girls to be exact. Pretty much any girl that Leo took an interest to despised him with all their life for something stupid that had happened. Like one time he had decided that it would be a great idea to hit on some pretty girl, and it was all going good until…well, she was a Hunter of Artemis. Yeah, apparently they have this no-boys policy, but who knew that?

Leo had done tons of stupid things and totally embarrassed himself around Reyna, but she didn't really seem to hold it against him. He remembered the first time they met when he'd accused her of destroying his camp a few weeks ago, and imagined it if their roles were reversed. Leo was pretty sure he would've been on Reyna's hit-list if things would've happened that way. He was definitely glad they weren't.

"Leo, what if he doesn't remember me?" Piper asked, interrupting Leo's thoughts.

He had to process what Piper meant by that, and realized she was talking about Emperor Jason. "Uh, I'm sure he'll remember you. You're not a forgettable person," he responded awkwardly.

Piper sighed nervously, tugging on her braids. "You never know. My mother might be bored and looking for another tragic love story! I'll go ask Ann," she said, the worry in her voice evident. She pushed through a few soldiers and approached Ann, who oddly had the same expression on his face.

It bothered Leo, but he knew he recognized this man from somewhere. Leo had seen this face before, he just knew it, but he couldn't place who it was. It was frustrating! The answer was there, but Leo couldn't quite reach it.

They arrived under the large arch that served as the entryway into the villa, and Leo heard Piper's breath hitch. He looked over in curiosity, and saw Piper clutching her arms so hard her knuckles were white. Ann had one of his hand on her upper shoulder, as if trying to prevent himself from running down the hall.

"Hey, welcome to Rome," a deep voice rang down the hallway.

Piper whimpered and Leo squinted at the dark figures at the end. The group moved faster in anticipation, and soon Leo could identify two separate figures. They were the leaders of Greece and Rome, King Percy and Emperor Jason.

The effect of the war was evident of both of their faces, lines and dark spots around their eyes that Leo knew weren't there before. He wondered if he looked like that, war-torn and worn down, looking years older than he actually was.

Leo positioned himself in the front, trying to keep the explosive ball of fire known as anxiety under control. "What's up? Not much since we saved the world, right?" Leo responded lightly, thinking in the back of his mind that it was really Reyna that saved the world.

Neither of the leaders where paying much attention though, which made Leo feel all kinds of love. Percy was tilting his head curiously at one of the soldiers, and Jason had stepped forward, his mouth hanging open.

"Is that you, Piper?" he asked cautiously.

That's when Piper lost it. She ran forward, wrapping her arms around Jason as closely as possible, kissing and holding each other like there was no tomorrow.

Leo shifted awkwardly, not really sure what to do. It wasn't everyday that one of the main leaders suddenly decided it was time to go all lovey-dovey. Percy wasn't really being any help either in the situation.

Thankfully, Blondie knew what to do. He cleared his throat, and Piper and Jason pulled apart. Piper was blushing furiously, but she took enough time to shoot Ann a proper glare.

"Moving on. Don't we have business to discuss?" Ann asked, but more like told them.

Percy clapped his hands. "Uh, yeah! Let's go to the place where we talk about things," he said casually.

Jason rolled his eyes and led the group down several cement hallways while talking to Leo on the side. "Is there something wrong? You're like Mount Vesuvius over there," Jason asked concernedly.

Leo decided it was a great time to adjust his tool belt. "Uh, can't really talk about it now," he said, motioning his head toward Octavian, who was leaning it and trying to eavesdrop, "but I think you'll get the basic idea once we go over everything."

"Alright then," Jason said simply, and pulled Piper up ahead by Percy.

Leo just pushed it away. Jason did that sometimes, but Leo had gotten used to it over the years. Jason was after all, emperor. He didn't have time to stay back and ask unimportant questions.

It was different, when they were kids, Leo remembered. They'd been best friends for a long time, but eventually they had to grow up, decide where their loyalties lay. Jason to Rome, Leo to Greece.

Of course, they occasionally seen each other, but it was normally during important political meetings when Leo came with Percy or when Jason came to Rome. And the one time they would've had a lot of time to chill and hang out, Piper had come along. And they had pretty much fallen in love and bam! All Jason wanted to do was be with Piper. The end. No time for Leo.

Leo couldn't blame Jason though. He and Piper were a match made in Olympus. At least _he_ could keep a girl without leaving her stranded in a desert.

They walked through the final arch and through some tall intimidating doors, putting them into the meeting room. Stone benches and desks aligned in the giant room, with a platform at the front of the room. The room was enormous and fancily decorated with statues and carvings.

Nobody was present in the room, and Leo really didn't know where the proper spot was to sit, so he just sat at the front bench in front of the platform. The rest of the army sat around him, while Jason and Percy went to the front.

Jason called for a servant, and two grand chairs were brought out for the two of them. They both sat down, and Jason motioned for Percy to talk.

Percy leaned forward in his seat, messing with some sort of pen in his hand. "So, tell us about your adventure."

* * *

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	13. Getting Things Straight

Rome wasn't as friendly as Reyna had always thought it to be, especially when she was trying to get to Emperor Jason's villa in the middle of a celebration.

The townspeople, in their excitement of supposedly winning the war, were crowding the streets, making it difficult for her to navigate herself and Scipio through. It also wasn't helping that the men were shouting insults at her as she pushed into the crowds.

"Hey! Get back home, where you belong!"

"Stupid woman!"

Reyna tried her best to ignore the taunts, but it was increasingly becoming a more difficult challenge. She had to keep her mind on what was really important here. Leo. _No, Reyna. Not Leo, Gaea_, she chided herself. Love could be really annoying sometimes.

The villa in sight, Reyna increased her speed, jumping off Scipio and taking off in a dead sprint. Scipio would be fine, the horse was like a dog; he'd find his way back home. She received a lot of dirty looks, she was sure, but at the moment Reyna didn't care. Not that she cared before though.

She slowed down as she approached the Roman guards at the gates. Reyna knew it would be stupid to just try to pass through them, obviously they were well trained and they were extremely buff. Reyna wouldn't have a chance with just her dagger. She did anyways.

The closer guard roughly shoved her back, making her smack into the ground. "What do you think you're doing? Slaves don't go through the front gates, stupid girl!"

Reyna stood back up, clenching her fists to control herself. "I'm not a slave, I need to talk to the Emperor." she said as calmly as humanly possible.

The guard laughed, flexing his well toned muscles. "Oh, really? And what's your reason?"

"That's classified and none of your business!" Reyna snapped.

"That's funny, coming from a weakling like you. Now share your information or prepare to suffer consequences," the guard said dangerously.

Reyna pulled out her dagger. "None of the above. See you around!"

Before the guard could react, Reyna took off running around the gates. The guard had said something about where the slaves entered, so that was probably her best shot of getting in without any major problems. She could hear the guards yelling and attempting to follow her, but Reyna was just as physically fit as them, if not more.

Reyna saw a group of grubby looking people and decided that they were most likely slaves. Something moved out of the corner of her eye, diverting her attention from the group. She looked around and seen the faint trail of dust and dirt settling into the air. Gaea was here. Reyna didn't have much time.

Breathing hard, Reyna charged towards the slaves, startling them as she approached. Reyna didn't know what to say to them, so she just improvised. "Hey, I'm a new servant and I was wondering if this is the way into the villa, because the guards wouldn't let me in," she explained quickly.

One woman with dirty hair that was tightly wrapped back, stepped forward, and pointed to a stone opening not far off. "That's where _we_ go in, but _you_ look like a higher class slave, so you should probably-"

"That's great! Thank you!" Reyna said, cutting the slave off. The guards were getting closer to capturing her, and who knew when Gaea would strike. The sooner Reyna got into the villa, the better.

She rushed through the groups of slaves, sometimes accidentally knocking down one or two. She didn't mean to, but she had no time to apologize. The arched stone opening was guarded by only one soldier, but Reyna pushed him aside with a simple shove and continued her journey.

Once she was inside and away from the guards, Reyna was able to assess her surroundings. Thick cement walls turned and twisted into other dark passageways, leading to who knows where. It was hard to see anything or know where to go. Reyna would've pretty much needed to be a slave to understand.

_Great_, Reyna thought bitterly, _on to the next obstacle_.

* * *

"Wait," Jason said interestedly, "Who _was_ this soldier that defeated Gaea?"

Nearly the whole army shifted awkwardly. Jason and Percy were reading Octavian's reports, asking questions about them while they did. Leo was sure they weren't completely accurate, making things seem worse than they really were in order to make Leo look stupid.

"Rey, last name unknown," Ann answered after a moment.

At the sound of Ann's answer, Percy nearly jumped out of his seat, an odd expression in his eyes. "I got it!" he said victoriously.

"Got what?" Jason asked, confused.

Percy handed Jason all the reports he had had in his hands and stood up. "Nothing, um, continue on. I just need to talk to _that _soldier," he pointed to Ann, "in private for a moment. It won't take long."

Leo nodded and Ann promptly got up and left, following King Percy out the door.

Jason sent a confused glance at the closed door, and shuffled the papers a little. He sighed and looked over to Leo. "So, tell me about this Rey. Where is he?"

"Rey had to be left behind," Leo said stiffly, throwing Octavian a glare worthy of Athena.

"Left behind?"

Leo moved forward on his seat, tapping his fingers on the stone. "Not dead! I just had to abide by the rules, otherwise she'd be here with us at the moment."

"What do you mean by that?" Jason said, beginning to shuffle through the reports again.

Piper stood up. "Jason, Rey was a woman disguised as a man. It was stupid of us to do that, she was a hero!" Piper's voice rang out across the room, vibrating the walls with power.

Jason was silent for a moment, probably considering what Piper had said. Leo anxiously took out a few bolts and pieces of metal and messed with them. He wondered where Reyna was. Had she come back to Rome like he had asked her to?

"So, what you're saying is that she was a woman, and that's the only reason she's not being heaped with honors and praised by every citizen in Rome?" Jason asked slowly.

"Yes!" Leo said with annoyance evident in his voice, which surprised him. Reyna was really starting to rub off on him, which was kinda scary.

Octavian stood as Piper sat down again. "Your honor, you must remember, it is a law. We only did as your law instructed, in fear of your wrath," he said smoothly.

Jason stood up angrily to join him, causing the papers to scatter across the floor. "If I may remind you, Octavian, that was _your_ law that you convinced me to pass for the safety of the women! This woman was a savior, and deserved a lot more than to be left alone in a desert mountain!" he yelled so dangerously that everyone other than Octavian flinched away from.

Octavian opened his mouth to retaliate, but then the door opened that Percy and Ann had left through, distracting everyone. Percy came in, a faint smile playing on his lips, hand in hand with someone that Leo almost lit the table on fire for not recognizing after all this time.

"Queen Annabeth?" Leo asked in amazement. Her grey bandana was gone and her hair let loose, revealing Leo's suspicions about seeing that face before. He couldn't believe had hadn't connected the dots. Seriously, Ann, Annabeth? Duh! Sometimes, Leo felt so stupid.

Annabeth smiled slyly. "Yes, I'm her. Which means Reyna has one more figure of authority on her side if something…goes wrong." Annabeth said carefully, giving Octavian a nice threatening look.

Octavian stumbled as he walked out of the room, mumbling about disgraces of Rome, knocking over his new stack of reports to write. Leo mentally congratulated him, because it would not have been smart of him to mouth off to her. Leo had seen Annabeth in action.

Jason recovered and called for a servant to bring in another chair. The servant left and soon returned, but hit the floor as if he had been pushed. A woman glistening with sweat and a half fallen out braid in leather armor appeared, holding her sides and breathing hard. Leo's heart leaped. It was Reyna.

Reyna froze at the sight of Emperor Jason. "Uh…Sorry for ruining your meeting and all…"

Leo leaned back in his seat, feeling defeated. Did Aphrodite hate him or something? Because it sure looked like Reyna might have a tiny crush on the all powerful emperor.

"Reyna, you came! Told you awesome was easy to follow," Leo said, hoping to divert her.

It did. She snapped to attention. "Gaea isn't finished, we're not safe yet." she said calmly, like she'd been practicing. Then she let that sink in, walking over to Leo. "And Leo, before I die, I didn't follow the essence of awesomeness. I followed my heart because you took it with you."

"Wha-"

"Oh my gods, Leo. Just kiss her!" Piper yelled from across the room.

He didn't have to be told twice. Leo grabbed Reyna in all her beautiful messiness and kissed her like he meant it, which he did. No matter what happened, today was definitely the best day ever.

Reyna pulled away, smirking. "Leo, you're smoking," she pointed out.

"You like it."

Leo could see a faint blush creep up on her cheeks, but she turned away. "Shut up. _Anyways_," she said, walking up the aisle. "We don't have much time. Gaea's army has already infiltrated Rome. She herself is not fully risen, somehow. I only delayed her."

"And what about Athens?" Annabeth asked, sharing a look with Percy.

Apparently, Reyna had already known about the whole, Annabeth-is-queen-of-Greece thing, because she wasn't fazed with Annabeth addressed her. Sometimes, life was unfair. "You know that time you told me what you thought Gaea would be using in her army?" Reyna asked.

Percy stiffened. "Not giants again! Please no," he pleaded. The stress lines on his face became even more noticeable.

"No, they couldn't reform that fast," Annabeth explained to him. "But she's using monsters to ravage Athens. Percy, we have to get home!"

Percy stood and shook hands with Jason. "Sorry, I'd love to help you protect your own city, but I can't let mine be defenseless. We need to be there."

Jason nodded respectfully. "I understand your decision, I'd do the same if it were the other way around," he said nobly.

"Thank you so much, Emperor Jason," Annabeth said gratefully as the two of them fled out of the room, hand in hand. The door slammed against the frame.

Piper's eyes darted between the door they had left through and Jason. She looked torn, like she didn't quite know what to do.

"You can go, I won't hold you back," Jason said, evidently noticing her indecision. From the look on his face though, he didn't want her to go.

"But I will," Reyna said, stepping over to Piper. "We need you here. I think you're the only one who can stop Gaea."

Piper looked taken aback. "Me? How?"

"Because of your voice," Leo said, understanding what Reyna was thinking.

Suddenly, ideas began to flood into Leo's mind. He could've made so many machines and traps that would've stalled Gaea, if only he'd had time. Leo could try to build a few now, but they would only be minor. He looked down to his hands and realized that he had built a miniature dragon without even thinking. Sighing, he put it aside, knowing that it would be no help.

"You think my Charmspeak would stop Gaea? Sorry, but I don't think so," Piper said incredulously, stepping away from Reyna.

Jason stood up, looking to the sparse amount of the army left. "If it's alright with you, General Leo, I think we should dismiss your army so that our plans are more concealed," he said lowly.

"Fine by me," Leo agreed. He turned to his pathetic army. "Uh, you guys go and guard some of the weaker places in Rome, okay? We'll join you soon, but alert us if something goes wrong," he said, trying to put some authority in his voice.

Reyna smiled encouragingly at Leo and stared emotionlessly at the men who had betrayed her as they walked out the door. As the doors closed, the four of them crowded around a table.

"So what's the plan?" Jason asked.

"Distractions. Lots of them. Gaea's warriors appear to be made of sand, but I think they're something more," Reyna said, focusing on the top of the table.

Leo tapped his fingers quickly. "What are they then? Better not be possessed chickens, because I don't think I'm mentally ready for that," he said, trying to ease the tension.

"I think…" Reyna hesitated for a moment, "I think they are the remains of the bodies that were on the battlefield, trapped inside Gaea's protective dirt cover."

"That's gross." Leo pointed out. "Gaea has got to go to a therapist or something."

Piper pulled out her dagger and absentmindedly looked into it. "So what exactly do I have to do?"

Reyna clasped her hands on the tabletop. "Don't hate me, but you know soldiers…even if they are covered in dirt. They want women, especially irresistible, beautiful, high class women…"

"Woah, woah, woah," Jason interjected, raising his hands. "Are you suggesting that Piper should seduce them? Because I'm not for that. Absolutely not." he said firmly.

Reyna turned to Leo. "What do you think?" she asked in a sharp tone that Leo knew he wouldn't be able to oppose.

"Um, I say whatever makes the dirt woman die. And if that means going out of our own comfort zones…then well, we have to do it," Leo said as casually as he could while Reyna stared into his soul with her obsidian eyes.

Apparently, she was satisfied with his answer. "Jason, you can protect her, she won't be alone. When you get a few close enough, attack them and move on to the next. Meet Leo and I at the Forum as soon as you can."

Piper sighed and stood up. "Come on, Jason. I've got to pray to my mother to make me horribly gorgeous."

Jason grimaced and took her hand, leading her out of the room. Leo could tell he wasn't happy with Reyna's plan, but they were out of options. Plus, that was a really good way to make a soldier not attack, he'd seen the way soldiers acted around women before.

"So, what's our plan to defeat the Earth?" Leo asked, pulling out the miniature dragon he had built earlier and messing with it for something to take his mind off the nerves.

Reyna twisted her fingers, like she wasn't quite sure of herself for once in her life. "I was thinking, well more like brainstorming, that- Hey, what's that in your hand?" she asked distractedly.

Leo looked down to his dragon. "It's a dragon, I guess. I bet this little guy could take out about every big toe on all of Gaea's sandmen."

She looked at it in interest. Her eyes lit up, like she was suddenly struck with a great idea. "That's perfect, Leo!"

"Uh, what?"

Reyna jumped up from the seat and took his hand, and Leo could feel the heat begin to radiate in his palms. "I've seen something similar to that before, in an old abandoned forge near my home. If you can get it working again…"

"I'm on it! Leo saves the day!" Leo said, running with Reyna out of the villa doors.

Reyna suddenly stopped, causing Leo to slightly smack into her, still holding hands. "Oh. My. Gods."

* * *

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own what Rick Riordan does, and I don't own Mulan either. **

**Thank you, wonderful people! **


	14. Flames Are Good

Reyna didn't know what exactly she had been expecting, but it hadn't been a full-out war.

Rome was fighting against Gaea's sand people as hard as possible with every ounce of strength it could muster. They were faring well for now, but soon they would need help. Major help. Reyna was just happy that she and Leo had the perfect plan.

She remembered being a young girl and scavenging out the surrounding areas with Scipio in hope of not having to do chores. Reyna had lost track of time and decided to light a torch to see in the darkening woods. She and Scipio had come across a large stone area that she'd never seen before, though Reyna had spent most her childhood exploring the woods. Curious, she had scanned the rock, hoping for something interesting when suddenly flames had raced across it, forming a giant doorway that opened. Frightened that it was an enemy spy headquarter, Reyna had only glanced inside for just a moment before jumping on Scipio and running back home to her father to tell him the news. The only thing she had been able to see had been a broken down bronze dragon on a table, abandoned for some reason.

Reyna had never been able to get the rock to open again, no matter how much she tried. Her father had told her to stop playing around like a little kid and learn the difference between real life and imagination. But Reyna knew that she hadn't been imagining things. She knew what she'd seen was real.

She pulled Leo behind a large column. "Do you have an idea? Because I'm all out," she asked him while scanning the area around them for sand soldiers.

Leo smiled in a way that made her worry. "How about we do things 'Reyna-Style this time?"

"What? Fight to the death?" Reyna snapped.

He gave her a thumbs up. "Exactly! Well, not the death part, but you get the point!"

Reyna rolled her eyes and pulled out her dagger. "Alright, General. Let's go kick some-"

"SQUIRRELS!"

"Squirrels?" Reyna questioned, but Leo had already charged into the battle. Sometimes, she wasn't sure about him.

Nonetheless, Reyna ran after him, slashing and stabbing at every sand person who dared to come in her way. She tried to push away the looming thought that the bodies inside this soldiers could have once very well been one of her fellow soldiers, knowing that their souls had moved on and the pieces inside the sand were just shells of their former selves.

She kept her eye on Leo, making sure not to lose sight. He didn't even know where their destination was, and she couldn't afford to not have him. Reyna could feel her energy leaving her from the long ride here in the desert and the adventures of getting into the villa.

Reyna caught sight of the stone street that led to the woods near her home. "Leo!" she yelled to get his attention.

Leo swung his sledgehammer into a skinny sandman, turning it to dust. "Coming, your highness!"

Not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment, Reyna grabbed his arm and took off sprinting down the road. She was happy to see that the battle had not yet spread to the rural streets, but Reyna could feel Gaea's rising influence vibrating through the ground. It was almost unsettling to know that the thing she was depending on the walk on was her enemy.

They ran past Reyna's childhood friend's homes, and she saw Gwen looking out her home to see what the commotion was. "Reyna?" she called uncertainly, but Reyna didn't have time to stop and talk.

"I'll explain later!" Reyna yelled back, forcing her legs to move faster to keep up with Leo, who seemed to have a lot more energy than she at the moment.

Reyna saw her dark house, and her heart stopped. The yard was untrimmed and the house untidy, like no one even lived there anymore. Where was her father? He couldn't have…died, it wouldn't be right. She left him in perfect condition. _No, Reyna, you didn't, _her mind spoke back.

Without even realizing it, she had stopped in the middle of the road, pulling Leo back with a jerk. "Is there something wrong, Reyna?" he asked, tapping his fingers with anxiety.

Reyna shook her head, deciding against telling him. "No, there isn't anything wrong. My house is right there, we just need to get into the woods behind it," she said, changing the subject.

"Let's get going then, my fair lady!" Leo said, pulling her arm towards her home.

She followed him, diverting her gaze from her lonely looking home. Scipio was waiting patiently at the wooden fence to her backyard, waiting to be let in. Reyna pulled away from Leo and ran over to Scipio and rubbed his neck, suddenly struck with an idea.

"Scipio, I need you to do me a favor, okay?" she asked nicely, trying to keep her voice steady.

Scipio whinnied and nuzzled Reyna's shoulder. "You just need to give Leo and I a short ride to that rock, you know, the one we found a long time ago that nobody believed us about?"

At hearing the news about Leo coming along, Scipio snorted and turned away from Reyna. Reyna looked over to Leo, who was trying to fix a broken spot on their fence.

"Hey, Leo? You don't happen to have a treat for Scipio in that magical tool belt of yours, do you?" Reyna asked, attempting to grab Scipio's halter again.

Leo looked up from the fence. "Uh, I don't think so, but let me try. Sometimes my awesomeness surprises even me," he said, reaching into a pocket. He closed his eyes, and after a moment he pulled out his hand and looked into his palm.

He held it out. "How about a mint?"

Reyna stalked around her horse, and before he could sense her she clasped her hand onto the top of his halter. "Aha! Now Scipio," she said in a threatening voice, "You can have the mint if and only if you give Leo a ride, got it?"

Scipio snorted once more but trotted over to Leo in anticipation of food. Right before Scipio could reach over and take the mint out of Leo's palm, Reyna pulled him back. "Another thing, no biting," she warned, knowing just how Scipio's mind operated.

Reyna released her pull on Scipio, and like a snake, Scipio dodged forward and took the mint without taking head to Reyna's warning. Leo yelped and cradled his hand.

"Your horse has serious jealously issues!" he said, pulling out some bandages out of a pocket.

Reyna rubbed Scipio's neck. "Yes, I'm sure that's it."

"It is! He can't take all my freaking amazingness!"

She pulled herself onto Scipio's back, and held out a hand for Leo. "Amazingness? Is that even a word?"

Leo shrugged and took Reyna's hand. "Could be. Now take me to your lair, I want to see this dragon!" he said impatiently as he sat behind Reyna on Scipio.

Increasingly aware of Leo's closeness to her, Reyna kicked Scipio and they bounded into the mysterious woods. She was reminded again of the need to get back to Rome as quickly as possible because lives were at stake. Reyna wondered how Piper and Jason were doing.

They dodged under tree branches and through piles of leaves and tree trunks, startling multiple animals on the way. Scipio ran on, the time passing like honey on a cold day, the feeling of dread continuing to build as they went. After what seemed like hours, Reyna could see the sacred boulder that had haunted her for years.

In excitement, she jumped off Scipio and sprinted after it, Leo not far behind. She stopped just before smashing into it and examined it. It was dark, cold, and concealed with secrets, just as she remembered it to be. Even after all these years, time had not affected it.

She turned to Leo, who was just now arriving. "This is it!" she said excitedly.

Leo just stared at her like she was from another world. "This? A boulder? Sorry, Rey-Rey, but I don't see a dragon," he said in a confused voice.

Reyna sighed and slumped against the cold rock. "I know! But the dragon is here, in this rock! I know what it, but no body ever would believe me!" she ranted.

Leo gave her a sympathetic look, like he's been in this situation before. "I understand, and I believe you. Just tell me the story, then maybe we can figure it out."

"Okay," Reyna said, resigned. She stood back up and dusted herself off, beginning to pace like she used to when her father asked her to repeat the story. "Scipio and I were searching around and exploring one night, when we obviously discovered this big rock, right?"

Leo nodded. "Right."

"And…I don't exactly know what happened, but suddenly red and orange lines began to race across the face of the rock, revealing a door. The rock door slid open-"

"Wait, did you just say that a rock opened like a door? That's awesome!" Leo interrupted.

Scipio took that as an opportunity to smack Leo in the shoulder with his head. Reyna sent Scipio a grateful smile and continued on with her story. "Anyway, it kind of freaked me out, because I had heard the rumors of spies, so I only glanced inside before heading straight back home," she explained.

"And that's when you saw the dragon," Leo finished, starting to pull metal parts out of his tool belt.

Reyna only sighed again. "Yes, but no body has ever believed me, as I've never been able to get it open again. But I know what I saw!"

Leo studied the rock alongside Reyna. "It was night, that's what you said, right?"

"Yes," Reyna responded, irritated.

"What did you have with you, exactly?" Leo asked.

Reyna thought back to that night. "Um, Scipio, some water, a torch, a compass, and…a basket? There might've been a few more other things, but I don't remember them."

Leo began to pace. "Orange and red lines…a torch…" he suddenly looked over to Reyna. "Did you accidentally touch the rock with your torch?"

"Well, I suppose I might have, but there's no-"

Leo wasn't listening, instead heading straight for the rock and slamming his hand on it with an air of anticipation, his fingers beginning to smolder and flicker.

"Leo, what are you-" Reyna was cut off again, for the answer to her problem was immediately answered in a way that Reyna was almost angry at herself for not figuring out after all these years.

With the recognition of fire, the familiar orange and red lines seared across, outlining the door that Reyna had searched for millions of times before.

The fire died down and the door opened with such ease that it was almost creepy. Before peeking in, Reyna turned to Leo with awe. "That was…amazing!"

Leo simply shrugged. "I have my moments, darling."

"Don't call me darling!" Reyna said, pushing past Leo and heading into the room.

Once again, Reyna was thrown into astonishment. Of everything she expected to be in that boulder, this was definitely not it.

This 'room' was so much more than a room. It was magnificently designed, with rafters high into the ceiling and highly advanced projects scattered around. Large boards hung with blueprints and notes pinned onto them, with scribbles and tears all over. There was so much that Reyna's mind was spinning.

Her eyes zeroed in on the object that had brought her here. The bronze dragon, laying on a giant table in the middle.

Reyna tugged on Leo's shoulder in attempt to bring him out of his amazement. "Leo, there it is," she said gently.

Leo freaked out, smoke beginning to billow from his curly hair. "Oh my gods, look at this place! It's so…Reyna, why didn't you ever bring me here before?"

"Because I didn't know you, Stupid! Now focus on the task at hand!" Reyna urged, reminded of the current state of Rome.

Thankfully, Leo snapped out of it and began to study the dragon with an expression of sorrow. "Hmmm, I don't know, Reyna. This might take some time…"

"Can you fix it?"

Leo looked around the giant room. "Can I fix it? Reyna, have you lost your mind?"

Reyna collapsed against a small table. "Okay, fine. We'll just have to find something else then," she said, all hope lost.

"I asked, have you lost your mind?" Leo repeated. Reyna scowled at him in response. "Well, apparently you have, because you have forgotten," he said dramatically.

"_What_ exactly have I forgotten?" Reyna snapped.

"That _I_ am Leo Valdez! The _awesome_ Leo Valdez."

* * *

**Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan or HOO, I think that is very obvious**


	15. A Dragon And Rome

Reyna wasn't going to lie, watching Leo work on the dragon was both agonizing and hilarious at the same time.

Agonizing, because while he worked, Reyna had nothing to do but sit and worry unless he asked her to go find something, or help him. All she could think of was how much Rome was getting demolished right now, and if Piper and Jason were doing okay with their part.

Hilarious, because it was funny to watch Leo work, and Reyna did not have a sense of humor, so she would know. He would talk, curse, and yell at the metal pieces, like they could talk back to him or something. Then, after that, he would turn to Reyna and talk to her about something that was Greek to her, grow frustrated at her confused look, and describe it in terms that actually made sense.

Along with that, Leo would occasionally look to the side and tell Reyna a lame pick-up line that would cause her to yell at him to get back to work. He would, but then he would be right back at it in just a few minutes. Reyna didn't really know what made her like him so much.

Reyna sighed and pushed the dark hair that had fallen out of her braid out of her face. "Are you almost done?" she asked Leo in an exasperated voice.

"Lady, I'm working on it! Calm your Romaness," Leo said, wiping a bunch of grease from his forehead. Behind him, the now operating dragon made some whirring sounds.

"Romaness?"

Leo didn't answer, instead shuffling through a nearby drawer in frustration and accidentally setting it on fire. He moved to the next one and searched again, apparently finding the right piece because he ran over to the bronze dragon and attached it to the inside of the head.

Bored, Reyna got up and began to examine the dragon. Walking around the large mass, she saw a lot of confusing mechanics and buttons that she probably shouldn't touch. It was beautiful though, the way everything ran together smoothly and delicately. But something seemed off.

Looking at the dragon's back, she realized the problem. "Hey, Leo?"

"Yeah?" Leo asked, not looking up from the part he was currently working on.

"Don't dragons usually have wings?" Reyna asked, and the dragon shuffled in annoyance.

Leo looked up and over to Reyna. "Man, that would be so cool, wouldn't it? But I don't have time, Rey-Rey. I could barely do this in the amount of time we have. And I don't exactly know if this'll work…"

"What do you mean? What happened to 'I'm so awesome because I'm Leo'?" Reyna snapped, walking over to him.

"Well, look at this mess!" Leo said, pushing a complicated disk in her face.

Reyna glanced at the many gears and wires, turning with magic that she knew would be near impossible to fix without godly help. She pushed her hair back from her face. "Will it work for just this battle, then later we'll figure out what to do? I'm sure there is something in this place that will help!" Reyna argued.

Leo sadly took the disk back and put it gently inside the unconscious dragon. "It will work, I suppose, if he lives through today. I'm just wondering how Festus will exactly fix the problem."

She sent him a glare and began to wonder around the shop, picking up random things aimlessly and pretending to examine them. "First of all, you shouldn't name things, it will only make it harder to let go if something happened and-"

"Festus is not an it, Rey!" Leo protested as the dragon started to wriggle around.

Reyna put up her hands in protest. "_Sorry_! It's just a tactic that any Roman would know."

"In case you didn't catch from your _constant_ gazing at all my awesomeness and falling _hopelessly_ in love, I'm not Roman," Leo said with that crazy smile on.

"_Anyways_," Reyna said, diverting the conversation to avoid either killing or perhaps blushing, "You wanted to know the plan. We're going to mainly cause a distraction. We want Gaea to view us as the threat. Are you following me so far?"

Leo picked up a wrench and began to adjust something on Festus's neck. "Yep. Distraction. Threat. Possible death. I'm in!"

"I don't think you have a choice, because I'd have to kill you if you said you weren't," Reyna pointed out, "But after we have Gaea's attention, we need Piper and Jason. Mainly Piper though."

"Why Piper?"

Reyna slowly walked over to Leo and the dragon. "Because she'll have to Charmspeak her back to sleep and into oblivion. It won't do any good to banish her, we know that now after what happened last time."

"But wouldn't old Dirt Face realize that fire doesn't hurt her because she's dirt?" Leo objected, putting down his wrench and shuffling through more tools as Festus groaned again.

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Do you think that I have not thought of that? We're just going to be a distraction. Plus, we can't fight on the ground, Gaea will suck us right into the earth. We have to be airborne, and King Percy isn't here to defend us with the water."

Leo threw a few tools in a nearby drawer in finalization. "Well, Rey-Rey, we are ready for take-off. Please fasten your braid and prepare for the ride."

* * *

"Oh my gods, Leo! You are going to kill us before Gaea has a chance to!" Reyna yelled as they took another dive before Leo could get Festus under control again.

Leo turned back. "Just a few complications, that's all! I didn't have enough time to work on the finer things!" he yelled back in defiance.

The dragon shifted again, and Reyna had to grip onto Leo's shirt to stop from sliding off. "Keep your eyes on the road!" she screamed.

"There is no road!"

"You are so lucky that we are one-hundred feet up in the air and that I can't kill you right now!" Reyna retorted through the rushing of the wind. She almost swore that she could feel sand hitting her face.

They lurched as Leo tried to prevent another dive. "Sorry!" he apologized, "By the way, Reyna darling, I love it when you give me death threats!"

"The threats are about to become no longer just a threat," Reyna retorted as the chaotic city of Rome came into sight.

It was so scary looking that even Leo didn't respond to Reyna's retort. Sand people were tearing down some of the most precious temples and buildings brick by brick, while the people of Rome attacked them and tried to keep them down while others formed out of the dirt simultaneously. Looking further into the city, in front of Jason's villa, a very familiar swirling mass of dirt was growing.

Festus clicked nervously, and Leo reached his hand down consolingly. "S'all right, Festus. We'll come out of this alive. Maybe."

Reyna pointed towards Gaea. "That's where we need to go. Directly to her source."

"Get ready to start this place on fire?" Leo asked, turning back to Reyna for a moment.

Reyna nodded. "Get ready to start everything on fire," she confirmed, "but try not to ruin anything to special, okay?"

"Like people?"

"Yes, people fall into that category!" Reyna snapped as she pulled her dagger out from her sleeve.

Leo adjusted a few pieces of Festus quickly, then relayed the instructions to him. After he was finished, Leo took out his sledgehammer. "Leo and Reyna to the rescue!" he announced to the entire city of Rome.

Reyna almost smacked the back of his head, but was forced to keep her hands attached to the back of his shirt as Festus dived into the chaotic war. Almost immediately, sandmen began to attack as they got into the city.

Festus and Leo shot fire, and Reyna protected the back by stabbing and pushing off any intruders as they flew on to Gaea's swirling mass. Reyna tried to not look at the destruction of the city too much as she fought, not wanting to stir any emotions. She was definitely spending too much time with Leo if she now had to double-think if it was okay or not to show emotion. Of course it was not ever a good time to do that!

Well, maybe sometimes it was. Sometimes, it felt nice to smile and laugh. Enjoy life and stop putting up the constant walls, keeping herself occupied with learning about war and weapons instead of all those petty other things. Leo was her opposite in many ways, showing jokes and laughter at all times even if he feels like breaking down.

_Reyna, stop being such a Venus girl and thinking about Leo during a fight_, Reyna chided herself as she almost missed a sand soldier who had climbed up Festus's back foot.

"Hey, Reyna! I can see Jason and Piper!" Leo called from the front. Reyna could hear the exhaustion in his voice, reminding her of how tired she was getting as well.

She looked over Leo and to the villa. Behind the swirling earth, Jason and Piper were holding the fort down by themselves, trying to prevent the sandmen from getting any further into the villa.

It seemed to be working relatively well. Piper was completely dressed up, glowing with beauty, stunning the sand soldiers at a time momentarily before either she or Jason stabbed them. Jason madly swung his sword at every daring sandman that looked at Piper in that way, and Reyna couldn't help but admire his skill. But he and Piper worked together and were together, so it was dumb of her to think of her old crush on him. Leo was just as every bit of, alright, _awesome, _as Jason was.

Upon sighting Reyna and Leo, Piper called out as she stabbed the next sandman. "You're back!"

"Yes! Keep doing what you are, we've got to carry out our part! You understand what to do, right?" Reyna yelled back, keeping her eye on Gaea.

Piper nodded as she took down another sandman. "Yes, I do! Now hurry!"

Festus took off, and both Leo and Festus began to spew fire at the churning dirt. This obviously angered Gaea, and the earth shook with her fury. Reyna was glad that they were suspended in the air, but the people down below weren't so lucky. Piper collapsed and was almost overcome by sandmen before Jason rushed to her aid and levitated her up so that they could continue to fight.

Reyna knew that they didn't have much more time. Jason couldn't hold both himself and Piper up for long, and Reyna didn't know how much longer Festus would last without dying again.

Fire shot out again at Gaea, and by her response, Reyna knew that they had successfully become the main threat. Whether that was a good thing or not, however, was yet to be known.

"You will not win," Gaea said in her silkily sweet voice, "You've already lost. My army is too large for yours, too skilled. Ironic that you trained them, isn't it, _General_ Leo? And just think, who's the _real_ enemy?"

Leo froze, and Reyna grasped one of his shoulders for support, knowing how Gaea could twist someone's thoughts. "What do you mean, the _real_ enemy?" Leo asked tightly, his sledgehammer in mid-air.

"Why, she's right behind you. Making you look like a weak leader, taking your authority. She stole your victory against me the first time, and she's warped your thoughts, making you fall for her from the moment you met. You were right, she is out of your league, not even on your side to help you. She has taken your spotlight. Think of how hard you worked to get to were you are, and how she has destroyed it. Yes, your enemy is your _darling_, Reyna," Gaea said in a bitter voice.

Reyna felt Leo stiffen under Gaea's words. She wanted to rip Gaea apart piece by piece for every treacherous word she had said, making Leo think against her. Reyna couldn't attack Gaea, it would only look like she was trying to stop Gaea from saying any more. Leo would have to fight her himself. Reyna had to move onto better tactics.

She pulled him back, talking directly into Leo's ear. "It's _not_ true, Leo! You know that! Me and you, we're competitive, that's how we work. I insult you, you come _right back _with a lame pickup line. You are my equal because we're _opposites_, but we fit together just like a puzzle piece. And just remember, whoever's words that you find to be more true, I will always love you. Leo, until the day I die and beyond, I, Reyna, will always love you!"

* * *

**Finally, I have been able to update! Getting grounded really sucks, I'm _so_ sorry! Little backed up right now...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan or HOO.**

**Thank you for your patience, reviews, favorites, follows, et cetera!**


	16. To Lullaby The Earth

Leo slowly turned around and started to pinch himself. "I'm dreaming. Yep, I'm definitely dreaming," he mumbled, looking at Reyna like she was some odd alien creature.

Out of desperation, Reyna slapped him across the face. "What's wrong with you? Freaking continue to attack Gaea any time now!"

Thankfully, either out of fear or realization, Leo snapped back to reality and began to blast Gaea with fire, hopefully blocking out her artificial words. Gaea was growing stronger by the looks of it.

A vague shape was beginning to be visible, curvy and flawless in only a way that the land could shape itself. It was Gaea, forming into a human shape, one so powerful that the entirety of the earth would be compacted into it. They couldn't let her rise and shake everything off that she deemed unworthy, creating her own perfect society.

"Leo, keep going! I have to go!" Reyna shouted over the hectic battle of earth and fire.

He looked back for only a moment before being forced to fight her off again. That was all Reyna needed before she jumped off of Festus and onto Gaea's realm, bravely fighting off every sandman that tried to slash at her. The ground shifted and churned beneath her feet, and Reyna had to concentrate just to stay up. Reyna hoped that Gaea stayed distracted just long enough for her to do this.

Reyna neared Piper and Jason, who both looked extremely tired. Jason had sweat pouring down his face, struggling to keep them both in air and fight at the same time. Piper looked less tired, but her time was about to come to spend her energy.

"Piper, now! You have to do it now!" Reyna yelled, almost losing her footing as a stone shrank into the dirt.

"Little busy here!" Piper responded as she took down a large sandman.

Reyna attacked a group of sandmen that were attempting to surprise Piper. "It's now or never, and never is _not_ an option!" she shouted back.

Piper nodded tightly and called out to Jason to let her down. While she and Jason were fighting, Reyna looked over to Leo, Festus, and Gaea. They were fighting valiantly to keep her distracted, but Gaea was still forming fast. A humanoid figure was almost certain by now, long, silky brown cascades of hair flowing down her back. They were pretty much out of time and resources.

Piper sank onto the shifting ground, struggling to keep from not being swallowed. "You know what to do. I'm going to go help Leo!" Reyna called to her, pushing back towards Festus again while taking down the sandmen in her way.

She desperately hoped that Piper got there quickly and did her job effectively, because Gaea was now about ninety-nine percent up and ready to take over the world. Reyna sprinted as fast as she could on the melting gravel. "Leo! Pull me up!"

Leo obliged and threw down some rope from his tool belt as Reyna got closer. Just as Reyna could barely touch it with her fingertips, she felt a pulling sensation wrapping itself around her lower body. She struggled to see what it was, but she already knew from the sandy feeling of its hold.

"Reyna!" Leo yelled, but he didn't throw anymore fire, and halted Festus from doing so as well.

She felt her legs being rubbed raw from the sand's friction as she was drawn closer and closer to Gaea. Reyna struggled at first, but stopped as the hold only grew tighter the more she struggled. Her back slammed against something as hard as rock, and Reyna realized that she was against Gaea, tied up by sand and unable to move.

Gaea roughly grabbed Reyna's face, and Reyna was able to take in her features. Her skin was hundreds of different colors, like every shade of the land splattered across her body. Her eyes reflected every civilization on the earth, clouding the real dirt and beauty that had once been present. Lines of stress from the changes lined her face in a way that almost made Reyna feel sorry for her. Almost.

"You think that I can be conquered through fire, daughter of Bellona? I expected better from you!" Gaea taunted, digging her long fingernails into Reyna's chin.

Reyna tried to see how Piper was getting along with her project out of the corner of her eye, but it wasn't possible without making it obvious. Leo was struggling to help her, but Gaea was holding him back, and he couldn't shoot fire or else Reyna would get hurt.

"Who could've guessed that you would do all this work for nothing?" Gaea said, "You should've followed my advice, and given up the first time I told you. But then, I am old, I forget occasionally. Reyna is a Roman. Reyna fights for honor even if it leads to death," she mocked, and Reyna could feel the anger rising within herself.

"Shut-" Reyna interjected, but Gaea slapped her with a gravelly hand. Reyna could feel the blood begin to rush down her face from the impact of stones and earth, but she didn't let the pain show.

Gaea looked at her thoughtfully. "Now that I look back on it, you would've made a good addition to my army. I should've spoken to you before you got brainwashed with love. You've changed, and now you are worthless to me. Well, almost. I just will be needing your life source to help me rise completely."

Upon hearing that, Leo struggled harder, and the earthy cords wrapped around his neck tighter, starting to suffocate him. The world started to spin in Reyna's eyes, the sandmen growing stronger and reforming, Jason struggling to keep them at bay. Rome itself, beginning to fog over and disappear.

That was when Reyna realized that Gaea had her mossy hand on her chest, stealing the very life from Reyna. She felt her strength fade quickly, her body falling limp and her mind not able to function. Darkness was close, Reyna could see the Underworld.

Her life flashed before her eyes, all that she worked for, all that she didn't and did do. Reyna wished that she could tell Leo goodbye, even though he probably ruin it with something stupid that would cause her to roll her eyes and give him a glare. She wished she could make things up with Hylla, and explain to her father why she left. Maybe even get on good terms with her mother.

But she couldn't anymore. It didn't matter. Reyna collapsed into death, her soul beginning its journey through Pluto's realm.

Until Piper's powerful voice interrupted the course. "Gaea, you are now fallen!"

* * *

Sore and exhausted. That's how Reyna comprehended her current state. She wanted to open her eyes, but it took too much energy. So she just listen, trying to figure out where she was and why she was there.

It didn't sound like home, she couldn't hear Tempest whinnying or the chickens clucking to be fed, or her father ushering for her to wake. Then Reyna remembered that she was at the army camp. But it didn't sound like it either, and her tent was away from everyone else's.

After a moment of deeper thinking, Reyna remembered everything. Gaea, dying, Leo…everything. Was she dead? Reyna didn't think so, judging from the surroundings.

She forced herself to open her eyes and take in a breath. Judging from her surroundings, she was in an infirmary of some sort. From the servants and medical assistants running around, this infirmary was located in Emperor Jason's villa. Some dark red blankets were wrapped around her in an odd position, but Reyna guessed that she did that to herself from tossing and turning while she was recovering.

Since no one was around to attend to her, Reyna thought about taking matters into her own hands. She wanted to leave and go home to finish recovering, not stay here. Reyna had things to do. Almost dying could really change a person, make them rethink everything they did and didn't do. Reyna had a sister to apologize to, a father to whom she owed an explanation, and Leo…she didn't really know what he needed from her.

But that didn't matter, because at that moment, Leo came running into the room, yelling like a child that had eaten a little too much sugar and was now hyperactive. "REY-REY! YOU'RE ALIVE AND SO IS FESTUS AND WE TOTALLY _OWNED_ GAEA!"

"Leo! You're embarrassing me!" Reyna said, trying to keep her dignity that had pretty much been mutilated by Leo. The other patients and servants were glaring at Leo for ruining the peace and quiet.

Obviously, he didn't care, instead beginning to sort through a stack of items beside Reyna's bed that she didn't notice earlier. "Look at all this, Queenie! Money, food, candy…and weapons! Man, all I got was a rock!"

"You did not get just a rock," Reyna said, rolling her eyes. Just like old times. "Besides, Piper's the real hero."

"Ha ha. May I remind you of the chick who coordinated the whole battle plan out? Who almost died to give Piper an advantage over Gaea?" Leo said, unwrapping a chocolate bar and eating it between words, occasionally shaking it at Reyna.

Reyna shook her head. "Sometimes you are annoying, Leo."

"Sometimes? _Sometimes_? You have insulted me! I, the great Leo Valdez, am always annoying, and you like it!" Leo said, shaking the chocolate so dramatically that pieces were flying everywhere.

"Can I go home?"

Leo literally jumped up and stood on the edge of her bed, like any moment now he would start jumping on the bed like a four-year old. "Nope! I'm not allowed to let you leave until Emperor Jason has a few words with you," Leo declared in an official voice.

"I'll give you a proposition," Reyna said, slowly inching herself out of the bed, "You leave to go do whatever, and I 'magically' disappear, and no one knows where I went. Deal?"

"And I get thrown on a crank wheel for disobeying the emperor? Uh, no thanks," Leo said, starting to jump on the bed.

Reyna grabbed her pillow and threw it straight at his stomach. "Stop it! You're dishonoring whatever dignity I have left!"

Leo stuck his tongue out at her after his pulled up his shirt and massaged his stomach in front of the already glaring infirmary. "Dignity smignity. Once a Roman, always a Roman, right?"

"You may shut-up any time now."

"Miss me, miss me! Now you gotta kiss me!" Leo shouted, which echoed across the entire room.

Reyna glared at him, seriously thinking about getting revenge on him. "Valdez, I did not miss you, as you can clearly see from that nice red mark on your non-existent abs." she said firmly.

"My babies!" Leo said, clutching his stomach like a pregnant woman. "Don't worry about that meanie Rey-Rey. She's just jealous of all our hotness."

"You need help. Would you like my place here? Never mind, I don't think they would take you," Reyna said, looking around to the nurses.

Leo was probably about to do something embarrassing again from the look on his face, but the doors opened, and Jason, Piper, and a few members of the guard came into the room, headed straight for Reyna's bed. Leo smiled sheepishly upon the look on Jason's face and jumped off the bed and busied himself with building something out of Reyna's gifts.

Piper picked up her dress and ran elegantly over, leaving the rest behind. "Reyna! I'm so happy that you're okay! I thought I was too late, and that we had lost and you had died! I felt so bad!"

Reyna let out a tiny apologetic smile. "It's fine, really, Piper. We're all here now, aren't we?"

"Yes, but- I should probably be quiet now as Jason is almost here. It's my place as the emperor's wife," Piper said, smiling at Jason as he walked up beside her.

"Wait, wife?" Reyna interjected.

Piper mouthed later, and Jason pulled out a very familiar looking gold sword and laid it on Reyna's lap. "This is yours, I believe," Jason said, breaking the ice.

"Yes it is, thank you, Emperor," Reyna responded formally.

Jason smiled, like he wasn't quite sure how to say something. Piper grabbed his hand, and he continued on. "Reyna, you have been of great assistance to Rome. You were at first a dishonor, your failure at the matchmaker's known across Rome, not to mention stealing your father's identity and sneaking into an army camp."

Reyna tightened her lips, not expecting the lecture. She just wanted to go home, not be told of her failures.

"But now, you have proved us all wrong, haven't you?" Jason asked curiously.

"Sorry? I don't quite understand."

"Well, you've become the most successful soldier in both Rome and Greece combined. You've brought great honor to both, and you're not even Greek. Also, I see that you proved that matchmaker wrong. Apparently, you can get a man," Jason said, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Reyna felt a blush creeping up her face, and she glanced over to Leo. Thankfully, he had lost interest a long time ago and wasn't paying an inkling of attention. "Thank you. May I ask permission to return home?"

Piper looked up to Jason in excitement. Jason stood straight importantly. "You may. But I would like you to return. King Percy and I have come to an agreement that based on both of your excellence against Gaea, you and Leo are to become the heads of the Roman armies, or Praetors."

* * *

**So, maybe one more chapter left? Doesn't matter (*sob* Yes it does!). **

**Anyways...Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! Best. People. Ever!**


	17. Forever, And That's All

Reyna gasped and Leo looked over in confusion. "Did you just say my name and praetor in the same sentence?" Leo asked.

The emperor nodded his head, and Piper smiled excitedly. "Yes, I did. I'd love to have the both of you as leaders of the Roman armies."

Reyna considered her options. She wanted to accept so bad, bring even more honor to her family and actually have a rank in Rome. This was her dream rank. But she also had to fix things back at her house. Reyna couldn't turn down an offer like this though, it would make her look stupid, and Reyna was not stupid.

"Emperor Jason, thank you so much. It would be an honor to serve as praetor of the Roman army," Reyna said graciously, "But I must make one request. I want go home and sort things there out first, if that's alright with you and the Senate."

Jason waved it aside. "The Senate will deal with my decisions. You may return home for as long as you please. And what do you say, Leo?"

Leo was still awestruck, smoke slightly billowing from his curly black hair. "Uh, apparently you are crazier than I am, but sure! As long as I'm with Rey-Rey!"

"I think it's time for me to go," Reyna said, trying to avoid any attention from Piper on how perfect she and Leo were.

Too late. "Well, I think Jason and I will just give you two your privacy now. Come on, Sparky," Piper said, leading Jason out the door with a mischievous smile.

"Seriously?" Reyna mumbled under her breath, throwing on some armor over her dress and strapping on some shoes. She faintly heard Piper laugh and the doors close.

"So I guess it's just me and you-"

"And twenty other people," Reyna interjected, getting up and walking to the exit.

Leo followed and caught up to Reyna's quick pace, and held the door open. "Reyna, why do you always have to ruin all my romantic-ness? Because honestly, that's all the 'Roman' I got in me. _Aren't_ you lucky?"

Reyna sped right past him without even a thank you. "Yes, I'm so _very_ lucky," she said sarcastically, practically running out the hall.

"Glad you agree!" Leo called after her, not keeping up as well as he was at first.

Reyna rolled her eyes and ignored any further comments as she walked through the halls and out onto the concrete marble steps. Looking out into Rome, Reyna was surprised at how _nice_ it looked. In fact, Rome looked like it had gone through a bad hailstorm rather than a war. But then again, Romans were trained to take down and construct things in record time.

She called over to a passing servant boy, who looked slightly familiar from the group she had passed when she was trying to get into the castle. "Hey, kid!"

"Yes?" the boy answered in a cautious voice.

"Go get my horse, Scipio. He's caramel colored and-"

"Oh, Peanut Butter!" The boy exclaimed in excitement. "I'll bring him right here!"

Reyna appreciated his help but the whole peanut butter thing was a little annoying. Her horse had a proper name for a reason! It was not Peanut Butter, Skippy, or any other absurd name. Scipio, and that was all.

Happy whistling came from behind her, but Reyna didn't have to turn around to see who it was. "Why do you have to follow me?" she asked irritably.

"Because you need me, that's why," Leo responded smartly.

Reyna peered around the corner for the stable boy. No such luck. "I do not _need_ anyone."

"Oh, I see where you're going with this. You _want_ me and all my hotness. Don't you think we should get to know each other a little more before we sleep together?"

"Leo! That is inappropriate and totally not what I meant!" Reyna yelled, pulling out her dagger in instinct. The surrounding people looked over to them in curiosity, but went on as soon as they seen Reyna's glare.

Leo backed up with his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! Didn't think you'd get so riled up…but that's okay, you're gorgeous either way," he assured.

Reyna turned away to avoid a possible blush. Thankfully, the dirty stable boy was on his way with Scipio, who was all saddled up and ready to go. Reyna ran over to meet him, and Scipio nuzzled her affectionately. "Thank you-"

"When you come back as praetor, can I ride him again?" the boy asked in pure excitement. It was obvious he was very taken by Scipio.

"Uh, yes. I suppose that could be arranged," Reyna answered unsurely. Nobody had ever given her this reaction to Scipio before.

The boy's eyes lit up. "Cool!" he exclaimed, and ran off to the stables to his other slave friends.

Reyna smiled slightly and pulled herself up onto Scipio's back. "Let's go home, boy," she said to Scipio.

"Can I come too?" Leo asked from the ground, kicking around the dirt.

Reyna hesitated. "I think I want a few minutes alone at home. But you can come later, you know the way."

* * *

When Reyna neared her home, she heard a clattering coming from inside.

Her heart raised in hope. Maybe everything wasn't wrong after all. Though the grass needed trimmed, and the house looked like it was going downhill, noises from inside were always a good sign, weren't they?

Reyna jumped off Scipio, running towards the front door. "Father! I'm home! And I'm so sorry, but I'm home! We made it!" she yelled, pushing through the door and into the house.

He didn't answer, so Reyna searched the house, walking through the hallways and peering into the rooms. "Father? Where are you?" she called out uncertainly.

"Reyna." A feminine voice said calmly from behind her.

Reyna spun around to see her sister at the doorway to the kitchen. Hylla, with her matching dark features and expressions, whom Reyna had always almost nearly hated for all her life because she was always compared to her. "Hylla," Reyna responded shortly, "Why are you here?"

Hylla motioned for Reyna to join her in the kitchen. Reyna obliged and Hylla talked as they sat down. "I want to be angry with you for leaving Father like that, but I have to ask myself if he would've been any better in the war," she said, sitting down lightly in the chair across Reyna, "And there's always the question of if I would've done the same thing you did."

"What do you mean? You've always done everything better than me," Reyna said bitterly, looking around to the kitchen distractedly. A thin layer of dust lay on just the table, with the exception of the spot where Hylla sat.

A faint smile played on Hylla's lips. "I'm just saying that I'm not sure I would've had the amount of courage it took to leave Rome and go to a Greek camp disguised as a man. And I never did take that match-making test that you had to. Who knows how I would've done!" she said humorously.

"But you had all that training from Circe, so you would have been better off in the end," Reyna pointed out.

"It's a shame that she was exiled before you could be properly taught. But she wasn't ever really a good influence anyway," Hylla said emotionlessly. "However, none of that matters now."

Reyna nodded, suddenly reminded of her earlier question. "Hylla, why are you here and where is Father?"

Hylla nervously folded her hands on the table. "Father was ill, and his condition was getting worse, you know that. By the time I returned home for a visit, he was on his death bed," Hylla said, staring intently at the wall behind Reyna.

She was trying to show no emotion, Reyna understood. It was just the way that the two of them were brought up, and old habits were hard to break. Emotions were an internal thing, and they stayed there. But Reyna had learned during the war that sometimes, that wasn't always the best tactic. Reyna scooted her chair closer to Hylla and grabbed her hands.

"Hylla, did he die peacefully? Did he understand my reason for leaving him?" Reyna asked worriedly.

Hylla looked over to Reyna in surprise, the tears ever-so-lightly glistening in her eyes. "Yes, he told me to tell you that everything was fine, and he forgave you for sacrificing yourself for him. And he said not to worry, he was going to a better place," Hylla said, her voice faltering.

"I want to thank you, Hylla. For being here when I couldn't."

"There's no need to thank me. You were only doing the right thing."

* * *

"Rey-Rey? Your favorite person has arrived!"

Reyna rolled her eyes and continued to rinse off the dirty counters, not answering Leo's call. Hylla looked up from the kitchen floor, which she had been rigorously scrubbing. "Who's that?" she asked curiously.

"An idiot," Reyna responded, throwing her cloth in the bucket and walking through the now shiny halls and to the door. She heard Hylla following close behind.

Reyna swung open the door in fake irritation. "I don't pick favorites. Maybe you've got the wrong house?" she suggested.

Hylla peered over her shoulder. "_Reyna_, my, my. Who is this young gentleman who comes knocking at our door?"

"I am Leo the Great, Praetor of Rome!" Leo announced, standing a little straighter. "And wow, Reyna, you never told me that your sister was hot!"

Fast as a viper, Hylla had Leo in a headlock. "And I am an Amazon, the queen actually. Would you like to come back with me as a slave?" she asked threateningly.

Reyna gently pulled Hylla away. "Hylla, he was just kidding, Leo does that a lot. You'll get used to it eventually," she said nicely. "How about we go inside?"

"Thought you'd never ask, Rey!" Leo said, walking through the door and kissing Reyna quickly as he did.

Reyna felt the heat rise in her cheeks and avoided looking into her sister's eyes as they followed Leo down the hall. Unfortunately, Hylla stuck out her arm and stopped Reyna. "Is there something you would like to share with me? You never told me about this other praetor," she said, smirking.

"It's nothing, Hylla. Really," Reyna assured her, trying to push past Hylla's arm.

Hylla held tight, not letting her move. "My little sister has a boyfriend! Why didn't you tell me?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Reyna grumbled, finally just ducking under her arm and escaping. "And I have my reasons for not telling you about him."

Hylla rushed past Reyna and directed Leo towards the sitting room while giving him a lecture and telling him all of Reyna's personal life at the same time.

"You hurt my sister, I kill you. Reyna loves jellybeans, by the way. I would recommend those for your wedding. Leave her, and I have an arrow that would go perfect with your eyes as it goes through your heart. You should give Reyna something. Are you a demigod like us? You should've seen Reyna when she was a little girl! So tiny but perfectly lethal with that sword of hers. I'll be sure to be lethal if you ever cheat on her-"

"Hylla! You're scaring him away!" Reyna interrupted, pulling Leo away from Hylla's tight grasp.

Hylla glared at Reyna and spun around in frustration. She stopped at the doorway before leaving the room. "And Leo? You are very much welcome to stay for dinner. And if Reyna is happy with you, you can stay forever," she said lightly, leaving the room as soon as she finished.

Leo smiled gratefully at Reyna. "Your sister is very…nice."

Reyna led him to the built in cement bench by the window that overlooked the forest. "She _can _be a little over protective at times."

"I have something to show you," Leo said nervously, messing with the rocks in the cement.

"Then show me," Reyna responded, looking at him intently.

Leo reached into the ever-present tool belt and pulled out a few scrolls. "I've been working on this for a while, and I wouldn't have told you about it until it was done, but I ran into a problem," Leo said straightening out the scrolls.

Reyna studied the intricate drawings and designs. "It's a dog," she pointed out, "But what's the problem?"

He grimaced and pointed to a metal piece drawing. "I can't decide whether to make it out of silver or gold. I didn't know which one you'd like better," he said shyly.

Reyna laughed, to her amazement. "You're worried that I won't like an automaton dog that you brilliantly made because of the type of metal?"

"Well, yeah. You're hard to figure out! You aren't some machine that I can just take apart and know exactly how you work!" Leo said defensively.

"Okay, point taken, son of Hephaestus," Reyna said with gleaming eyes. "How about you make one silver and make another one gold?"

Leo looked up from the blueprints. "Two dogs? Will I have enough time?"

Reyna pulled Leo a little closer, her arms wrapped around his neck. "Leo, we're praetors of Rome. We can do anything. Besides, you can stay forever, if you like."

Smoke began to faintly blow from Leo's curly hair as he closed the gap and they began to kiss. But really, Reyna was okay with smelling like smoke if it meant Leo was here and she wasn't alone.

Leo pulled away just enough to get one last word in before continuing to kiss again. "Then forever it is."

* * *

**Time to cry, because this is the end! I would like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, followed, and favorited this story! I'll miss you!**

**However, depending on my job, school, and life, I should have another, yes_ another_, Leyna story up!**

**Again, a big thank you for all your support!**


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